


It's always been you

by 28Danny_Z



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dancing, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Hogwarts Fourth Year, M/M, Mentioned Yule Ball, Rating May Change, Secret Relationship, Slightly Insecure Draco Malfoy, Slightly Jealous Draco Malfoy, Tags May Change, Yule Ball Invitation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-06 23:41:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 38,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13422102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/28Danny_Z/pseuds/28Danny_Z
Summary: After being turned down by Cho Chang, Harry bumps into Draco Malfoy in an empty corridor. To his surprise, Draco asks him to be his partner for the upcoming Yule Ball. Will Harry accept? And what will happen next?Note: I really am working on next chapters, I just didn't have time to post anything because... you know, life happens and also procrastination is my biggest weakness... but this is not an abandoned story, and I hope to post as soon as possible, so please, stay patient ♥Note 0.2: This still is a WORK IN PROGRESS! I will post as often as possible, I promise.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so, I hope that everyone is having a wonderful day. :)
> 
> It's been a while since I last posted something, so here is the first chapter of my first longer story. Since it is my last year of college, I don't exactly have much time to write, but because I procrastinate a lot, I knew that if I won't start now, I never might. Lets' hope that my need to finish this will win over my laziness.  
> I don't exactly know how many chapters there will be in total, but I'd like this story to take place from Harry and Draco's fourth year to their eight year, so, there will probably be a lot.  
> It's hard for me to say how often I will upload new chapters, lets' say every three weeks, but as I know myself, it may take longer, so please, be patient.  
> The first chapter is rated Mature mainly for the laguage (one or two curse words), but in later chapters, it will change to Explicit, just so that you know. Also, be warned, I plan on this fic to have Mpreg, so if you don't like it, I'm sorry in advance, but you have been warned.
> 
> Anyway, lots of love and enjoy :)

**‘Oh – Cedric,‘ she said. ‘Cedric Diggory.‘**

Those words were ringing in Harry’s head over and over again as he was walking through the empty corridor.

Cedric Diggory.

_Cedric Diggory._

**_Cedric Diggory._ **

He was starting to like that guy. After all, he gave Harry an advice for how to solve the Golden egg (well, after Harry telling him about those dragons in the first place), but now…. Harry felt betrayed.

Which was absurd. With the exception of Ron and Hermione, no one knew that Harry fancied Cho. Cedric definitely couldn’t know. If only Harry was quick enough and asked her sooner.

But still… Why did Cedric have to ask _Cho_? There were plenty of girls in the castle!

“Pff!” Harry snorted. “Surely he’s handsome enough to have any girl he wants. Why, out of all the girls in the castle, did he have to ask the only girl I’ve ever liked?!”

“Talking to yourself, Potter? So you’ve finally lost it?”

Harry groaned. Out of all people, he just _had_ to bump into Malfoy now, right after Cho turned him down. Not bothering with an answer, he continued through the hallway. Of course, Malfoy couldn’t simply let him go.

“It’s impolite to ignore people who try to talk to you, Potter. Did those Muggles never teach you that?” Harry shot him a quick glare. There was a smirk playing on his pointy face.

“Why can’t you just leave me be, Malfoy? I really don’t want to talk to you. Not now, and not ever, so just… go somewhere else.”

Malfoy just chuckled. “And why would I do that? Tormenting you is much more fun, Potty.”

Harry rolled his eyes. What a prick.

“Anyway, I just _couldn’t help to not hear_ what you were saying.” Malfoy said. “Really, Potter? Does the Golden boy have a problem to find a girl to go to the Yule Ball with? You, Potter? A Hogwarts’ champion?” The smirk was back on his face.

“Oh, can’t you just fuck off? I know that it must please you to no end that I got rejected. But why can’t you just go and tell Parkinson or any other of your cronies? After discovering such a juicy piece of information to make fun of me with, one would have thought that by now, you would be on your way to the Slytherin common room to tell everyone about it, just to humiliate me.”

Malfoy snorted. “Not every gossip in this school is about you, Potter.”

“After the last four years, I wouldn’t be so sure. Also, if I remember, you and your pals actively participated in spreading lies and gossips about me to the whole world.”

“Well, yes. It was quite fun to do.”

“That’s what I mean. You enjoy humiliating me, Malfoy! That’s why I wonder why you’re still here!”

“Actually, I have a proposal for you.” Malfoy’s pale face was now stained with two pinkish spots on his cheeks.

“And what proposal could that possibly be?”

Malfoy shifted his weight from one leg to the other. “Well, as I said, I’ve noticed that you have a problem to find a companion to the Yule Ball. So, we could go together.”

At first, Harry thought that he heard him wrong. “What did you say?”

“You heard me, Potter.” Malfoy rolled his eyes. “I said that we could go to the Yule Ball together.”

“Are you seriously asking me to go to the Yule Ball with you?”

“Ehm,” Malfoy cleared his throat. “Believe it or not, yes, I’m asking you to go to the Ball with me.”

Harry just stared at the blond. Finally, when he found his voice again, he asked: “What are you playing at, Malfoy”

“I’m not playing at anything. I’m honestly asking you to go with me.”

“And you think I’ll believe that?” Harry listed his eyebrows.

“Why not?” Malfoy shrugged.

“Why not?! Are you seriously asking me why I have a problem to believe that? You hate me! You’ve hated me since the train ride in our first year! So why would you-“

“I don’t hate you.”

“You what?”

“I don’t hate you, Potter.” Malfoy was now visibly blushing, but if it was with anger or humiliation, Harry couldn’t be sure. His eyes were avoiding Harry’s.

“You can’t be serious, Malfoy.”

“I am.”

Harry could see a slight gleam in Malfoy’s grey eyes, even though the blond was still refusing to look directly at him. What was happening?

“Is this a prank, Malfoy?”

“What?” Malfoy’s eyebrows knitted in confusion and he finally looked straight at Harry.

“This must be a prank, right?”

“Potter, it’s not a prank. I’m honest with you.”

“Well, I don’t believe you. If it’s not a prank, then it is some sort of a bet or something. There’s no possibility that you would be asking me to go with you for any other reason.”

“Potter, just listen, I-“

“No,” Harry shook his head. “I don’t believe you. This must be a prank of some sort. You would never ask me to go with you without any ulterior motives. But honestly, Malfoy? I thought that after the last year, after that fiasco with a Demetor costume, you couldn’t sink any lower. Obviously, I was wrong. I don’t know what you’re playing at, but you won’t fool me. Just- just leave me alone.”

And with that, Harry turned on his heels and left, leaving Malfoy alone in an empty corridor.

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

 When he came into the Gryffindor common room, there were only few people, mostly revising for some tests they still had to attend before Christmas break started. Luckily, Harry’s favourite sofa in front of the fireplace was empty. He sat heavily with a sight. What was that all about?

Harry closed his eyes.

Malfoy just asked him to be his partner for the Yule Ball. It still didn’t make any sense. Why would he do such thing? Surely, he couldn’t mean it. It must have been a prank.

He frowned, his eyes still shut.

Yeah, if Harry accepted, Malfoy would just laugh at him for believing him. And Harry would be a laughing stock for the whole Slytherin House. And not just that, but for the whole school too.

Of course, if he accepted Malfoy’s offer, he could gain something out of it. Yes, people would be shocked, but maybe if they saw Harry and Draco _not_ fighting with each other, the Slytherin students might finally stop insulting him. Also, Harry was a terrible dancer, but given Malfoy’s upbringing, Harry was sure that the blond must be an amazing dancer. At least they wouldn’t look like some tottering idiots. It might be actually quite nice to let Draco lead and just enjoy the dance. And he is quite handsome, too.

Wait…

WAIT!

Harry opened his eyes. Was he actually thinking about Draco Malfoy as _handsome_? And calling him Draco? Not Malfoy, but _Draco_?! What was happening?

At that moment, Ron entered the common room. It was obvious that something was wrong with him. He was all green in his face, and Ginny, who was just behind him, had to point in Harry’s direction. Otherwise, Ron wouldn’t even notice him.

Harry patted at the seat next to him, an Ron sat down with a frown. “Oh, I can’t believe I did it.”

“What happened, Ron?” Harry asked, slightly worried about his best friend. It was Ginny who answered.

“He asked Fleur Delacour to go to be his partner for the Yule Ball.” She sat down on the ground and rested his left shoulder against the sofa they were sitting on.

Harry’s eyes widened. “Really? And, uhm, how did it go?”

Ron shot him a glare that just screamed ‘Are you out of your damn mind?’ “Of course she refused, what else did you expect?”

“Well, I don’t know. She might have agreed-“ He stopped when Ron pierced him with that glare again. Ginny just sent him a shy smile. Clearly she felt sorry for her brother.

“I honestly don’t know why I did it. And in the middle of the hall full of people! I just- I just really don’t know what happened. One moment, I was just walking when I saw her talking with Diggory, and then- I asked her to go to the Ball with me! It was so embarrassing, Harry!”

“Yeah, well… it might be because she’s part Veela. I guess that she was making eyes on Cedric and it affected you too.”

“You think she wanted to ask Diggory?”

“Maybe. He’s going with Cho, though.” When Ron lifted his eyebrows questioningly, he added: “I asked her to go with me, and she told me.”

“Well, that’s a bad luck for both of us, mate. Do you think that we’ll find some girls to go with?”

“Sure thing.” Harry tried to sound optimistically, even though he doubted that there were some free girls in the castle at this point.

Then his eyes fell to the two girls sitting in the corner. Parvati and Lavender. An idea crossed his mind. What if…?

“Stay here.” And without further explanation, he went straight to the girls. Parvati was the first one to notice him, and she elbowed her friend to turn around. They both smiled charmingly at Harry, which made him blush slightly.

“Hi Parvati. Hi Lavender. I hope I’m not disturbing.”

“Well of course not, Harry. How can we help you?” Parvati said in a bright voice.

“Uhm, I was thinking,” he swallowed nervously. “ Parvati, would you go to the Yule Ball with me?” he saw Lavender to wink at her best friend and sighed inwardly. This Yule ball was a nightmare from the first moment. Still, he waited patiently for Parvati’s answer. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Yes, I’ll go.”

“Good. Nice. And, Lavender, would you maybe want to go with Ron?”

Lavender smiled at him apologetically. “Sorry, but I already have a date. But maybe,” she turned to Parvati, “your sister still doesn’t have a dancing partner, right?”

“Yea, that’s truth. I could ask Padma if she would go with Ron.” Parvati turned to Harry again.

“That would be great. Will you let me know her answer?”

“Sure.”

“Great. Well, thank you, I- I’ll leave you here. See you.” They waved him goodbye and he went back to Ron and Ginny.

“What was that all about?” Ginny asked with curiosity. She moved her legs so he could go to sit back to his spot.

“Well, I just asked Parvati to go to the Ball with me, and she agreed. She will also ask her sister Padma if she’d like to go with you, Ron.” And he turned to face his friend. He could see that the freckled boy’s face lifted slightly.

“That sounds good. Do you think she’ll agree.”

“I don’t see a reason why she shouldn’t.”

“Maybe because he didn’t ask her personally,” Ginny couldn’t help to jab at her brother a little. Harry frowned at her, but she just shrugged.

“Don’t worry, Ron. She’ll definitely say yes.” Ron nodded at that.

“Why weren’t you two at dinner?” A voice startled them all. Neither of them noticed that Hermione came over to them. She placed her school bag on the armchair next to the sofa and crossed her arms, waiting for answer.

“Well, we both had some troubles with finding dates for the Ball, so we had to solve them somehow.” Harry said.

She just lifted her eyebrow. “And did you?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m happy for you. Both of you. But honestly,” she sighed, “you shouldn’t put off things. What if you didn’t find any girls to go with?”

“Then they could go with boys.” Everyone turned to Ginny. “What? Would it be that bad?”

Harry moved uncomfortably on his spot. He couldn’t say that it was a terrible idea. Just some time ago, Draco asked him to be his partner for the Ball. And he was actually thinking about what if?

Well, great. Now he was thinking about it again. What was happening to him?

“I guess not.” Hermione shrugged. “Unexpected, yes. But in Ron’s case, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. For Harry, though, it might-“ The rest of her words got lost in a sound of Seamus calling at them from the Fat lady’s portrait.

“Oi, you won’t believe what just happened!” He came over, with Dean following him. They were both grinning, especially the Irish boy.

“Hi guys, can we sit here?” Dean asked. Seamus just rolled his eyes. “Of course we can, we are mates, remember? They won’t mind.” He lifted Hermione’s back and sat on its place.

“Seamus, I wanted to sit there. Why do you think my bag was there, hmm?”

He just grinned at her. “Well, sorry ‘Mione, but you weren’t actually _sitting_ there, so I took the seat as free.”

“I’m sorry for him, but he’s a little bit excited.” Dean said politely, and Aciioed another armchair for Hermione and a cushion for himself and Ginny.

“Thank you, Dean.”

“No problem.”

“So, what news do you bring today?” Ron asked. “By Seamus’ expression, I guess that it must be something quite interesting.”

“Very interesting, mate.” Seamus corrected him. “I’m sure you’ll love that.”

“Well, don’t let us waiting. Spill it out!” This time it was Ginny, who seemed to can’t wait to hear the news.

Seamus looked at Dean, who just shrugged. “You’re more excited about it than I am. You can tell them.”

“A’right then.” He turned to the group and smiled at their expressions. “Listen carefully, ‘cause this will be some juicy story.” He cleared his throat and began.

“So, Dean and I were on our way from the Great Hall. You know how the main way to get here is always crowded, so we decided to us a shortcut through the passage from the third floor. You know, the one that starts behind the portrait of that old nun in a garden. Well, we were almost there, when we hear some voices. They were coming from the empty classroom that almost no one uses. As decent human beings, we, of course, wanted to pass as quickly as possible. Someone might have been snogging there or more, and we didn’t want to disturb. But, as we were passing by, we recognized those voices.” And he stopped again for a dramatic pause.

“Whose voices?” Ron leaned closer.

Seamus grinned. “It was Parkinson and Malfoy.”

Until that time, Harry was listening just half-heartedly. This, however, caught his attention. Parkinson and Malfoy. That was that amazing story that Seamus wanted to tell them?

Harry’s heart started beating faster. What if they were really snogging there? And why was Harry feeling uneasy about it that suddenly?

Ginny snorted. “And that’s all? That’s your amazing story?”

“Not at all, young lady.” Seamus winked at her. “We are just starting.”

“A’right. As I said, we caught Malfoy and Parkinson in an empty classroom. It’s not that unexpected; since they can barely be seem one without the other. But what we heard is what matters the most. Ladies and laddies, Malfoy, the Ferret face himself, was crying!”

Ron snickered. “What could he possibly cry about?”

“That’s the best part, my friend. Dean, do you want to continue?”

“Why not.” Dean shrugged. “From what we heard, he asked someone to go to the Yule Ball with him, but they refused him.”

“Wait, no! You’re not telling it properly!” Seamus interrupted him.

“Why do you think I’m not?”

“You skipped all the best parts, mate. Let me continue. You’re a shitty storyteller, you know?”

“Well, now I do.”

“Hmm, hmm. Well, as Dean already told you, Malfoy was turned down by his desired date. The best part is, though, that it was a boy!”

“What?” They all said in unison. Well, all except Harry. He was just sitting there, feeling blush rising onto his face. He already knew that Draco asked a boy. He just wasn’t sure if Dean and Seamus heard that it was Harry who turned the blond boy down.

“Yeah! Great Draco Malfoy is gay! Who would have thought, right?” Seamus was now looking at them maniacally, his eyes wide.

Hermione was the first one who came to her senses. “Well, who are we to judge? Also, it’s not as surprising as it seems.”

“How come?” Ginny frowned.

“Well, in many pureblood families, their members try to hide the fact that they are gay. From what I’ve read, it’s quite common. Not for the ones like your family,” she pointed at Ron and Ginny, “but for the ones like Malfoys. When there’s a gay person, they tend to mask it by choosing a companion of opposite gender. They spend almost all time with that person, giving the impression of a romantic relationship to the rest of the world. My guess is that Parkinson would be a perfect choice for Malfoy in this case. Also, with the exception of Parkinson, he’s never seen in a company of another girls. That would make perfect sense.”

“Thanks, ‘Mione. That’s all very interesting, but you still haven’t heard the whole story.”

Hermione just sighed. “Alright, Seamus. Go ahead.”

“Thank you, my dear. So, you basically know everything, but not the details. Now, as we were listening to what Malfoy and Parkinson were talking about, we’ve learned that not only Malfoy invited a boy to the Ball, but he, as it seems, has a long-term crush on that boy.”

“Wait a minute. Malfoy is capable of feelings?” Ron couldn’t help but grin.

“It seems like it.” This time it was Dean. “It was actually quite interesting to listen to them. I mean, we might hate him as much as we can, but he’s also a human being, just like us. He was really upset about it. I mean, he was practically sobbing on her shoulder. And, if I remember correctly, Parkinson said some things like: ‘I knew that you’ve had a crush on him since you two met at Madam Malkin’s, but I’ve never thought that you are so smitten with him to actually ask him to be your dancing partner.’ Also, she then said that she thinks it might not be just a crush, but something more. And, yeah, Malfoy is a prick, but- I don’t know. It’s quite sad that he might even **love** someone, but that guy doesn’t like him back.”

Seamus rolled his eyes. “Well, that took an unexpected turn. I wanted to tell them a juicy gossip about Malfoy, and you turned it into a philosophical debate.”

“What?”

“Come on, Dean just has a kind heart. Isn’t that right?” Hermione smiled at the dark skinned boy.

Seamus, on the other hand, just gagged. “So, now that you all know the story, we can at least make fun of Malfoy the next time we see him.”

“No.”

Even Harry was surprised that he said it out loud. Everyone turned at him, and Ron lifted eyebrows in confusion.

“I mean- Yeah, he makes fun of us all the time, but this is- I don’t think that we should make fun of him because of an unrequired love. I know what it feels like when you like someone who doesn’t like you back. And I’m sure that all of you know that feeling too, when you like someone, but they just don’t see you like that.”

When he saw the look Seamus shot at Dean, the way Hermione blushed and Ron coughed uncomfortably, and the way Ginny’s eyes refused to meet his, he knew that he was right.

Hermione seemed to agree. “I guess that you are right Harry. It wouldn’t be fair, even if it’s someone like Malfoy. So, what do you say, no one will make fun of him, hmm?” Looking around, everyone nodded in response, even Seamus, even though a bit hesitantly.

Ginny was the first one to stand up. “Well, it’s late.” And as if to prove it, she yawned. “Good night, everyone.”

“Night, Ginny.”

“I’ll go too.” Hermione rose up from her seat. She grabbed her school back and before leaving, she turned once again to Harry. “I don’t know what happened to you this afternoon, but whatever it was, I’m glad for it. You seem more- mature. It suits you.”

“Thanks, Hermione.”

She smiled at him, waved them goodbye and left.

Soon, the boys followed her.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Later that night, Harry kept tossing and turning in his bed. All his roommates were asleep, Ron and Neville seemed to be in a snoring competition of some kind.

But not Harry.

No. Harry was still thinking about what happened with Draco that afternoon, and all those things Dean and Seamus told them later that evening.

Draco Malfoy is gay. That was confirmed by Parkinson, who, if Dean remembered it right, said that Draco has a crush on someone. Someone he met in Madam Malkin’s. He met **Harry** at Madam Malkin’s.

Sure, he might have met many other people there. Many boys he might have developed romantic feelings for.

But he asked his crush to go with him to the Yule Ball. He asked **Harry** to go to the Yule Ball with him. Did he really mean it? Was he honest with Harry? Harry couldn’t be sure.

It all really seemed that Draco had a crush on Harry.

Turning on the left side, Harry frowned. ‘He said that he doesn’t hate me. And he actually seemed to upset when I refused him. Was he hurt? And that gleam, were those tears in his eyes? Ugh!’ Turning to the other side, Harry sighed. ‘Why can’t this _being a teenager_ thing be easier?’

‘ Should I’ve accepted him? What would happen if I went to him and tell him that I accept? Would he still want me to go with him? He likes me. Could I even _like_ him like that? **Do** I like him like that?’

 

Truth to be told, when Harry was talking about having feelings for someone back in the common room, his mind was turning back to Draco.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, guys :)
> 
> I'm back with chapter No. 2  
> I know, it took me a while, but I'm currently obsessing over Sterek, so my attention was driven away. But now I'm here and working on another chapter.
> 
> I didn't want to rush Harry and Draco's conversation, so you'll have to wait a little longer for that (also sorry for that little clifhanger at the end of this chapter).
> 
> Anyways, enjoy and see you soon :)

Whoever came up with the idea of Yule Bally was a jerk.

Well, Harry didn’t mind the idea itself. No, he hated the fact that it was a tradition for champions to open the ball with a dance. How, by Merlin’s pants was Harry supposed to know how to dance?

Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he could barely recognize himself.

There was no point in denying that he looked very handsome. The bottle green dress robes went great with his slightly darker skin, and the colour brought out his eyes pretty nicely, although they were still hidden by his glasses. Even his usually unruly hair was tamed (he used a little bit of Sleekeasy’s Hair potion so that his nest of a hair looked ‘intenionally wild’, as Hermione said). Yes, he looked good.

It didn’t erase his uneasiness though.

Soon, he will have to come in front of the audience and dance. Bloody Hell, it’s going to be embarrassing. If there at least was some time for him to learn some basic dance steps.

‘Yeah, but you had time, remember? You could tell Parvati that you have no idea of how to dance, and you could have practiced. You had a week, _a whole week_ to do that. And how did you decide to spend your free time instead?’ His inner voice decided that just now was the best time to pester him.

Harry sighed. Right, he had time to practice dancing with Parvati, but instead, he decided to stalk Malfoy.

The night when Harry learned that Draco had a crush on him was difficult. It took him ages to fall asleep, and when he did, he dreamt about grey eyes. When he woke up the next morning, he decided to talk to Draco, this time without prejudice. He would find him, talk to him, and solve all this mess. Bury the war axe, as Muggles say.

‘And if Draco admitted that he had feelings for him, then we might actually hang out and see where it goes, right?’, his inner voice added, at which Harry just rolled his eyes.

Yes, Harry spent whole week thinking about Draco and trying to talk to him. It wasn’t difficult to find the blond Slytherin. After all, Harry had the Marauders’ Map, so he could see every step Draco made. Also, his pale blond hair was kind of difficult to miss, even in the biggest crowd you could imagine. So it wasn’t hard to find Draco, not even it this one hell of a castle, no. The problem was that every time Harry gathered enough courage to speak to him, Pansy Parkinson stepped in his way. Harry wasn’t sure if it was like that before, but now that he actually wanted to speak with Draco, the short haired girl was always hanging from Draco’s arm, always near him. And if it wasn’t Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle surely were near Draco. And there was no way Harry would try to talk to Draco in front of others. He wanted to solve this mess between them in private, without any prying eyes.

In the end, Harry decided that if he won’t catch Draco in the week before the Yule Ball, he would do it during the event itself.

Surely Parkinson would be busy by making eyes on some poor boy from Durmstrang, and Crabbe with Goyle would be occupied by stuffing their mouths full. In such crowd the Yule Ball brought, it would be easier for Harry to disappear under his Invisibility cloak and drag Draco somewhere private to talk.

Yes, it was a great plan. Right?

Just then, Ron came in their common bedchamber. At first, he didn’t seem to notice Harry, mumbling something under his breath, but finally, he caught a glimpse of his best friend.

“Well, that’s just not fair!”

“Wh- What isn’t fair?” Harry asked, confused by Ron’s mood.

“Look at you. You look normal! I mean…. Your dress robes. They look nice. Not like this monstrosity that I have to wear!” And to prove his point, he waved with one lace trimmed sleeve in front of Harry’s eyes. “This is just embarrassing.”

Harry smiled empathetically. He actually forgot how awfully old-fashioned Ron’s dress robes were.

“Well, we could try to improve it a little, hmm? Have you thought about getting rid of all the lace, for example?”

“Yeah,” Ron sighed. “I asked Hermione for help, but she’s still mad at me for, quote, forgetting that she’s a girl. And without her help, I would probably set this on fire instead of cutting all of this off.”

Just like that, he collapsed on his bed and groaned.

“Maybe, uhm, I don’t know… we could try to change its colour at least? Perhaps, golden-brown wouldn’t be so bad? I mean, it would be an improvement, at least it wouldn’t look like, uhmm…”

“Like someone vomited on it?”

“Well, I didn’t want to say it out loud, but yeah..” And Harry sat next to his friend. “McGonagall already taught us the spell. It wouldn’t be difficult.” And to lift Ron’s spirit a little, he playfully bumped his shoulder.

Some of the sour expression disappeared from Ron’s face. “Thanks, mate.”

Harry smiled at him. “You’re welcome. Now, let me see… yeah, the golden-brown probably will be the best option.

………………………………………………………………………

In the end, Ron’s dress robes didn’t look like the disaster they used to be no more than hour ago. At least, that’s what Harry told himself while he and Ron were standing in the Entrance hall, waiting for Parvati and Padma to join them.

When Harry looked around, however, it was painfully obvious that no matter what alterations they have done, Ron was dressed in by far the ugliest robes any of the students were wearing. Judging by his expression, Ron was aware of all the stares, and the bad mood from earlier was once again shown on his face.

Harry just hoped that Padma wasn’t picky. For Ron’s (and his own) sanity.

Harry was just thinking about where Hermione was, when he saw a flash of platinum blond hair in the corner of his eye. His attention was instantly drawn to the corridor which lead to the dungeons. He saw a group of Slytherin students, lead by Draco.

Harry’s jaw dropped.

To say that Draco looked handsome felt like an understatement. Something like saying that Mt. Everest was quite nice little hill.

Just like Harry, Draco changed his hairdo. Gone were amounts of hair gel that would keep his hair slicked on top of his head. Instead, the blond let his hair fall free and frame his face. His dress robe was black, which brought out his silver eyes. He also had a grey tie, which went nicely with the outfit. The brooch in the shape of emerald snake and elegant ring were just a topping.

No, Draco didn’t look just handsome. He looked gorgeous.

Harry felt a pang of jealousy when he saw Pansy Parkinson hanging from Draco’s arm. Even though he knew that Draco was gay and Pansy was just his friend, Harry just couldn’t help it.

‘Yeah, I should have totally accepted his offer.’

“They’re here.”

Harry shook his head and looked at Ron, who now had such a frown on his face that even Snape would be impressed.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“They are here. Parvati and Padma. There.”

Following Ron’s pointed finger, Harry saw both girls on the bottom of the Great Staircase. They looked great, each of them wearing silky dress and hairstyles more complicated than anything Harry has ever seen.

“Hi, Harry.” Parvati smiled at him. “Wow, you look great.”

“Thanks, Parvati. I really like your dress, it looks nice. Actually, you both look really beautiful,” and he shifted his attention to Padma. “Don’t they, Ron?”

“What? Oh, yeah, they look nice.”

Harry rolled his eyes. Judging by Padma’s expression, she wasn’t exactly pleased with Ron’s attitude. And to be honest, Harry understood. When the girls weren’t paying attention, he nudged Ron with his elbow.

“What?!”

“Uhm, Ron. I know that you aren’t in the mood and so, but maybe, you could at least pretend that you want to be here. Try to pay a bit more attention to Padma. I’m sure that in the end, it won’t be that bad. Hmm?”

“Ugh, ok,” huffed Ron. Hesitantly, he cleared his throat. “Hey, Padma, do you think-“

“May I have your attention, please?” Ron’s attempt at conversation was interrupted by Professor McGonagall. “I would like to ask all of the students to go to the Great Hall and find a seat. All of you with the exception of champions and their partners. Champions, please, if you could come here and listen for a while.”

“Well, see you, Harry,” mumbled Ron and left, with grimacing Padma by his side.

Fleur and her partner (whose name Harry couldn’t remember) were the first ones to reach professor. Krum and some girl Harry’s never seen before joined them right after.

Then, there was Cedric and Cho. Harry was actually surprised that he didn’t see her earlier. With Cho being his supposed crush and all, it would make sense, wouldn’t it?

‘Yeah, but you were too busy ogling Draco, remember?’ His inner voice reminded him once again that it was still here. Groaning inwardly, Harry took Parvati’s arm and went to join others.

“Champions,” McGonnagall took word once more. “As you all know, it is a tradition for that all three, this year four champions, to open the Yule Ball with a first dance of the evening. At first, however, there is a feast, so you will have time to calm your nerves at least.” And she shot the tiniest smile in Harry’s direction. He couldn’t help but smile back.

“Of course, the Yule Ball is meant to be a time of celebrations, so don’t forget that. In a moment, you will be called in and the Ball will officially begin. I wish you all good luck.” And she left.

Harry swallowed heavily. For few sweet minutes, he forgot about the dance. Now, after this reminder, he felt his heart beating fast out of nerves.

“Ehm, Parvati. I should probably tell you that-“

“Oh. My. God. Harry, is that Hermione?”

“What? Where?” Confused, he looked around. No matter how hard he looked, the only people that he saw there were champions and their companions. Frowning slightly, he turned back to Parvati.

“I’m sorry, but I really don’t see anyone that would at least slightly resemble Hermione.”

Parvati rolled her eyes. “There. With Viktor Krum. Just look!”

With one eyebrow slightly lifted, Harry looked once more. He had to admit that the girl that stood side by side with Krum was pretty. She wore nice light blue dress, and her hair were tied in a elegant knot and-

“Bloody hell! It **is** Hermione!”

“I wouldn’t even recognize her! Did you know that Krum asked her to be his partner?”

“Ugh, no. I had no idea.” Harry admitted

“But wow, she looks really pretty.” Parvati kept admiring his friend. Harry felt oddly proud.

“Yeah, she does.”

“I bet that Ron won’t be happy about that, though. That she is here with Krum.”

“How do you mean that?”

Parvati chuckled. “Come on, Harry. It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

When Harry just frowned deeper in confusion, she sighed. “Ughh! Boys. What did I expect?” And she didn’t bother with further explanation.

“Yeah, well… I don’t know what to say about that.” Harry was still confused.

Parvati smiled at him. “You don’t have to say anything, Harry. I’m sure that sooner or later, you will get your answer and know what I meant. But now, you wanted to say something, right? I mean earlier, before I interrupted you.”

It took Harry few seconds before he remembered. “Oh, yeah, about that. Don’t get mad at me or anything, but... this thing with dancing and all, I – uhm.. I have no idea what to do. You know, living with Dursleys, I’ve never received any kind of dancing lessons or such, so…. I really don’t know what to do. I know I should have told you earlier, and I know that it wasn’t fair of me, not telling you this but-“

“Let me stop you here, Harry. So, you’re basically saying that you don’t know how to dance, right?”

Harry nodded.

“Alright. Sooo, I guess that I should lead during the dance. Hmm?”

“Well… If you wouldn’t mind?”

She shrugged. “Not at all.”

“Wait, you’re not mad at me?”

Parvati shook her head. “Maybe a little, but it’s mostly for you not telling me sooner. If you did, we could practice the dancing, at least a little. But overall, I kind of thought that you don’t know how to dance, so it’s not that surprising for me. Oh, don’t look at me like that.” She waived her hand when she saw Harry’s slightly insulted expression. “Once I heard Ron and Hermione talking about your muggle family, and how, uhm, unpleasant childhood you had, so… It occurred to me that they probably haven’t taught you how to dance.”

“Yeah, well…. Thank you.”

“Oh, you’re welcome. But don’t worry, you will pay me for this favour later.”

“Ok. How though?”

“I don’t know yet, but surely I’ll let you know when I come up with something. No come on, they are waving at us to go to the Hall.”

…………………………………………………………………

Harry had to admit that he was having quite a good time.

Sure, he wasn’t used to such ‘posh’ way of dining as this ‘choose from our menu and we will deliver’, but it was enjoyable nevertheless. The food was extra delicious and he almost forgot that Percy Weasley, who was sitting next to him, kept bragging about how important personal assistant he is to Barty Crouch, and how prestigious that position is on his way to (someday) become Minister for Magic.

Sometimes, he also heard other champions talking to their partners- Fleur was complaining about the decorations- or vice versa- Hermione wasn’t successful with teaching Viktor how to pronounce her name. On another instance, he heard part of Dumbledore’s conversation with Karkaroff about some room that could be almost described as a museum of chamber pots of some kind. When Harry realized what Dumbledore was talking about, he caught such a fit of giggles that he spilt almost whole goblet of pumpkin juice over himself. Even Parvati wasn’t successful with hiding a smile.

Then came the moment Harry dreaded the most.

“Ladies and gentlemen. Now it’s time for the Yule Ball to officially start. Our champions, please, the podium is yours. As for the music-” Dumbledore invited the Weird Sisters onto the stage.

Harry sighed. Here it comes.

When all the champions were almost ready on the parquet, Harry looked into the crowd. He was so nervous that the only thing he could see were silhouettes of the fellow students. The air was buzzing with expectations and Harry felt dizzy. His head was spinning, his heart was beating faster than when he fought that bloody dragon.

“Harry, calm down, ok?” Parvati whispered into his ear, but he barely heard. His eyes were looking for some kind of anchor, something that could calm him down.

There.

There it was.

The silver of Draco’s eyes. They were shining, even in the dim light and were the only solid thing that Harry was able to focus on.

Draco was watching him, his expression unreadable. But it was enough.

Harry took a deep breath and turned back to Parvati. “Yeah, ok.”

Just then, the music started to play.

………………………………………………………………….

All in all, Harry had to admit that the dance wasn’t as bad as he expected. Yes, he tripped over his feet two or three times, but soon, other pairs joined them on the dance floor so the champions (and Harry) weren’t in the centre of everyone’s attention.

As they agreed earlier, Parvati was in lead, and he thought to himself that that he better buy her some flowers to express his gratitude.

No, really, to his surprise, he enjoyed the dance.

Problem was what came after.

And unfortunately, Ron was in the centre of that disaster.

It happened after the initial dance. After some bickering, Parvati agreed to sit for a while, and they decided to join Ron and Padma at their table. Even from quite the distance, it was clear that neither Ron nor Padma were having even slightly good time.

Ron was scowling at the dance floor, his eyes glued to Hermione’s back as she was dancing with Krum. Padma on the other hand, kept glancing at him, and each time the frown on her face got deeper.

They spent three songs sitting awkwardly at the table. Parvati was trying to keep a conversation with her sister, and Harry spent the entire time listening to Ron’s murmurs about how Krum looks like a Neanderthal in a suit. Eventually, two boys from Durmstrang asked both girls to the dance, and when Ron didn’t even seem to notice them, Harry nodded at Parvati to have a good time.

He would be a hypocrite for not letting them dance and have fun, when he himself wasn’t paying any attention to the girls. Instead, he was occupied by looking at Draco.

The blond boy was now dancing with Pansy, who looked like she was floating on a cloud. It was obvious that Draco didn’t have any problems with even the most difficult dance steps. Of course, as a member of a pureblood and a wealthy family, he probably had a personal dance master from the time he could walk.

And Harry was just mesmerized by the sight of the blond. He could imagine himself dancing with Draco. He almost felt Draco’s steady grip on his back, how he would hold Harry do that he wouldn’t look like a total idiot. Instead, all eyes would be on them, jealous of how perfect they would look together. How gracefully they would dance, from one side of the dance floor to the other, closer to each other then Harry has ever been with anyone-

“-with the enemy!”

The high voice startled Harry. He was so deep in thoughts that he didn’t even see Hermione approach their table. Krum was nowhere to be seen, but it was probably for the best.

Hermione was furious, her fists clenched.

“What do you mean, an enemy? Viktor is **not** an enemy!”

“Well, he’s Harry’s rival in the Tournament, isn’t he? That qualifies him as an enemy.”

“No, it does not, Ronald. The meaning of this whole Tournament is to make friends, learn about different cultures and-“

“I’m sure that he doesn’t want to be just a friend with you.”

Hermione gasped. “I can’t believe you just said that. Just so you know, Viktor has been nothing but a proper gentleman. Never, not even once has he behaved inappropriately. He’s never asked me about anything I wouldn’t want to talk about. You don’t know what kind of person he is, so don’t you dare talk about him like that!”

And she stomped away, leaving fuming Ron and startled Harry at the table.

“Uhm, Ron,” Harry tried to ask his friend, “what was that?”

Ron just gritted his teeth. “Nothing. She just- I know that he doesn’t mean any good, and she’s just too stubborn to see it.”

“Yeah, well, to be honest, I don’t think that-“

“I need some fresh air and the music is terrible. Are you going with me?” Ron stood up. Slightly hesitating, Harry shook his head.

“Sorry Ron, but I’d rather stay.” He said apologetically. “I kind of like the music and-“

“Yeah, well, I’m going. See you around?”

“Sure, yeah.”

Harry’s eyes followed Ron on his way to the Entrance Hall. ‘Well, that went well.’ Sighing for himself, he turned back to the parquet, searching once again for Draco.

However, the blond boy was nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t with Pansy, who was now flirting with a tall boy from Beauxbatons. Nor he was with Crabbe and Goyle, who stood awkwardly next to the big bowl of punch.

After he made sure that there was no one paying attention to him, Harry stood up and discreetly left the Great Hall. There were some couples in the corridors of the castle, and he tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. In the first corridor that was free of any people, he found an alcove to hide in.

He pulled out the Marauders’ Map from one of his inner pockets. As quietly as possible, he murmured the usual phrase and soon, his eyes were looking for the dot named ‘Draco Malfoy’. He didn’t have to look for long. According to the map, Draco was alone in one of the empty classrooms near the Great Hall.

He cleared the map, pocketed it once again and left the alcove.

During his walk, he didn’t meet any other students, for which he thanked every deity he could remember of. His only company was a sound of music coming from the distance.

As he was nearing the room in which Draco was, his heart kept speeding up its rate. What will he tell Draco? To be honest, he had no idea. But, thinking for himself, he was best without any plan that he could screw, so improvising was probably his best option.

The door to the classroom was slightly ajar. After a while of hesitation, he opened it a little wider so he could peek inside.

The room was drowned in the moonlight. Harry could see desks covered in a layer of dust, since no one ever sit there. Everything was steady.

The only living thing there was Draco. He was sitting by the window, half of his face visible, half kept hidden from Harry’s position by the door. He looked calm, if not a little sad.

Harry’s heart skipped a beat.

Slowly, he walked in a silently locked the door behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> Another chapter!  
> I really had fun with this one, so I hope that you'll like it.
> 
> I just wanted to let you know that after this, I may take a break from wrtiting this fic or writing in general. My finals are getting closer, I have a lot of trouble with my master's work, so I really need to focus on my school. But don't worry, as soon as possible, I will come back, I don't want this fic to stay unfinished.
> 
> Also, it's highly possible that you will find some mistakes in the chapter that I owerlooked. So I wanted to ask you to let me know if you managed to find some, so I could fix it.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy :)

Harry cleared his throat so that he wouldn’t startle Draco. Even with this effort, the blond boy visibly tensed. He turned his head, and was now facing Harry, his expression unreadable.

“Ehm, Draco?” Said Harry quietly, his heart at racing speed.

“What do you want, Potter?” His face was still blank, though his silver eyes darkened a little. Harry knew that he was getting annoyed with him already. What a great start.

“I, ugh…. I wanted with talk to you.”

Draco snorted. “So what? Do you **_really_** think that I would want to talk with you? Pfff. As if I don’t have better things to do.”

Harry shuffled his legs. He still could hear music coming from the Great Hall, even though it was muffled by the distance and thick walls. This will be difficult, but said to himself that Draco’s attitude won’t discourage him.

“Ok, you don’t have to talk. But I still want to tell you something, so, please Draco, listen at least.” He looked at Draco with hopeful expression.

The Slytherin boy rolled his eyes, then he sighed with exasperation. “I hope it’s at least interesting. Go on, talk, tell me what you want if you **_so_** need to. And since when you call me Draco, anyway?”

Harry smiled slightly. “I thought that you didn’t want to talk with me. But you just asked me a question. Or am I wrong?”

Realising his mistake, Draco narrowed his eyes. “Whatever.”

Harry moved from the door, taking few steps to get closer to Draco. He knew that if he wanted to get this right, his only option was to tell Draco the truth, even though it might ruin his life if Draco decided to be a prick once more and use it against him.

“It’s been a week. I started to call you by your first name a week ago. Ever since you asked me to the Yule Ball. Before, you were just Mafoy, but that proposal changed it. That- that’s actually what I wanted to talk about. Or, at least one of many things I wanted to talk about with you.”

When he saw that this got Draco’s attention, judging by his lifted eyebrow, he took few more steps closer.

“Uhm- I wanted to, uh, apologize for being that harsh on you back then. Even though I had every reason to. I mean, you’ve always been rude not only to me, but to my friends, and to people I care about. You call Hermione ‘mudblood’. Last year, you almost got Buckbeak killed! And you’ve always made fun of me. You, and Parkinson, and other Slytherins. You gossip about me, make up false stories just to hurt me. It shouldn’t really come as a surprise to you that when you asked me to accompany you to the Yule Ball, I thought it was suspicious. It was so unexpected! I mean, we’ve been enemies for four years!”

Draco shot him an angry glare at this. “I never wanted to be your enemy.”

“Didn’t look like it, Draco, come on. Even you have to admit that!”

Draco’s only response was to shrug and motion Harry to continue.

“As I said, I had every right to think that you just wanted to prank me. But,” Harry sighed, “when I recall that conversation, I might have been **_too_** rude to you. You seemed sincere and at least I might have given you a chance to explain.”

“You’ve been thinking about it often, Potter?” Draco lifted both his eyebrows now.

“Actually yeah, really often. I didn’t even have time to practice dancing with Parvati for that initial dance, because the whole last week, I was trying to catch you to talk to you. Not that I had a chance to catch you alone, with Parkinson or other Slytherins always by your side. So, here I am, trying to say sorry.”

Draco’s eyes were now narrowed as he was thinking about what Harry just said. Finally, he rolled his eyes and spoke: “Apology accepted. Even though it pains me, you have **_no idea_** how much, I’m not blind. I know how I’ve been treating you all that time. I can’t really blame you for- you know- rejecting me. So, I’m sorry too.” His last words were almost inaudible, spoken through gritted teeth. It was obvious that Draco wasn’t used to apologising to anyone, especially not to Harry.

Harry snorted. “If I didn’t hear it myself, I would never believe that you just said sorry to me.”

“Oh, shut up, Potter!” Draco retorted. “ ** _You_** were the one who stalked me for a **_whole week_** because you wanted to apologise.” He shook his head. “And really, what were you thinking? You ditched dance practice, which would be essential in your case, for that? This must be the stupidest idea you’ve ever had! It was so painful to watch you and Patil. Sweet Salazar, I can’t even call it ‘dance’, it was total disaster!”

‘This is your chance! Don’t mess it up!’ His inner voice decided to make a comeback, not that Harry himself didn’t know what to do right now.

“Yeah, I guess I could really use a teacher. Someone who would show me how to dance, so that I wouldn’t make a fool out of myself the next time I have to dance.”

“Yes, you really could.”

“So, will you?” Harry took a step closer.

“Will I what?”

“Will you teach me? How to dance?”

Draco was gapping at him. “What?”

“Will you dance with me, Draco? It- it doesn’t have to be any kind of lecture, just one dance. I’m sure that you are an excellent dancer, and even one dance would be really helpful, you know?”

Draco kept staring at him, his eyebrows lifted so high that they were almost lost in his blond hair. “Are you serious?”

“Yep.”

“And you mean like, now? You want to dance? You really want me to dance with you?”

“That’s what I said, yeah. Of course,” Harry decided to play dirty, “If you’re shy, or unsure about your skills, I can go and ask someone else.”

“I’m **_not_** unsure!” Draco rose on his feet. “I highly doubt that there is a single person in the whole castle who is a better dancer than me.”

Harry smirked. Victory!

“Ok, so-do you accept? Will you dance with me?”

“I’m not backing of, if that’s what you mean, Potter.”

“Good. Sooo, lets’ dance.”

“We need music.”

“There **_is_** music.” Harry was sure that if he could hear the melody of ‘Magic works’ coming from the Great Hall, Draco could too.

“It’s too quiet.”

This time, it was Harry who rolled his eyes. “Yes, because we can’t use magic or anything, right?” He waved his wand, and suddenly, the music was much more distinct than just a moment before. He pocketed his wand and turned to face Draco.

“That’s better. So, shall we?”

Draco lifted his chin. “Alright. But, I am in lead. You can dance the lady’s part.”

Harry snorted. He was sure Draco said it just to see his limits. As if Harry would be too proud for that.

“Ok, I expected that, and I don’t mind.” He smiled at Draco.

The blond hesitated for a moment, then he crossed the distance between himself and Harry in few long steps. Harry could feel his heart speeding in rate, more and more with every step the Slytherin made.

“Lift your right hand.”

Harry dutifully followed the instruction, his hand shaking despite his seemingly calm attitude. He just hoped that Draco didn’t see how nervous he was.

Draco took his hand, that single touch sending shivers down his whole body.

“Put your right hand on my shoulder.”

Harry obliged, and at the same time, he felt Draco’s other hand on the small of his back. His heart almost stopped, his imagination running wild, as the warmth of Draco’s hand was seeping through his clothes. He knew that he was blushing bright red.

‘Come on, Harry. Get a grip!’

“We need to get a little closer.” Draco’s voice drew him back to reality. He nodded and stepped closer to the other boy. Draco was several inches taller than him, and Harry was hit by his scent. It was mesmerizing. Draco smelled of mint, and pines, and something sweet, like flowers. It seemed like an odd mixture, but to Harry, it was perfect. He had to close his eyes to calm himself down.

“Ready, Potter?”

Harry nodded.

Draco started to move them. It was hesitant at first, but soon, they were dancing as if they were born for this. Harry smiled, still taking in Draco’s scent.

 “I knew that you are a great dancer.”

“We’re just turning on the spot.”

“I know, but still, it feels good.”

Harry peeked to look at Draco with one eye. His smile widened as he saw Draco flush bright pink at the compliment. It was breathtaking, how just a pinch of colour changed Draco’s whole appearance. He looked so handsome.

After a while, Draco cleared his throat and spoke again.

“So, what changed your mind?”

Harry, whose stare was now fixated on Draco’s tie, looked up in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“You said that you wanted to talk about many things with me, but the only thing we’ve talked about was my invitation. And if I remember it correctly, back then, you were adamant about me playing a prank on you. You stormed out of there and didn’t even spare me one look. Yet here you are, trying to have civil conversation with me. Something must have changed your mind. I guess that this is me trying to ask **_Why_** are you here? You must have a reason.”

“Yeah, well… you’re right.”

“Obviously.”

“Don’t be so full of yourself, Draco.”

“I’m not, I just know when I’m right and when I’m not. It’s simple, really.”

Harry remained silent. There comes the most difficult part of conversation.

“Will you answer my question, or should I just leave you here?” Draco was growing impatient.

“No, don’t leave! I- I will, I just- I don’t know exactly how to start. It’s complicated.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah. And, I’m afraid that you’re going to get mad at me, or at least at my friends.”

“That’s highly possible, Potter. Now spill!”

Harry nervously cleared his throat. ‘Alright, you can do this, Harry. Just be honest.’

“You were right, something happened that changed my mind about all of this, your invitation and all that. Uhm, I really thought that you pulled some kind of prank at me, and wouldn’t even spare you any thought. But later that afternoon, someone told me something and from that time, I just couldn’t stop thinking about what happened.”

Draco shot him an annoyed look. “Someone told you something? Really, that’s all? I’m afraid that you have to be more specific, because without any explanation, this doesn’t make any sense.”

“Ah, yeah, I know.”

“So?”

“Uhm, ok, I’ll just say it, yeah?”

“Please.”

“Alright. Once again, please don’t get mad-“

“Potter, just say it!”

“Uhm, Seamus and Dean heard you crying and talking with Parkinson about how you have a crush on some boy, and that he refused your invitation to the Ball. They told us in our common room that day.”

Draco tensed and stopped immediately. Harry’s heart was beating fast as he was waiting for Draco to process what he just heard. It took uncomfortably long. When he couldn’t take it any longer, Harry decided to be bold and spoke.

“Uhm, Draco?”

“You’re lying.”

Even though it came out as a whisper, Harry could hear many emotions in Draco’s voice. Uncertainty, anger and fear were the most distinct ones. It made Harry’s heart clench.

Harry looked at the blond. Draco was staring somewhere behind Harry, his expression unreadable once again. Harry tried his luck and began stroking Draco’s left wrist with his thumb to calm the Slytherin down a little.

“Draco-“

“You’re lying. It never happened.”

Harry sighed. “Why would I be lying about something like that? Why would they?”

“I don’t know, but- I don’t believe you.”

“And why not?”

“If they heard something like that, not that it actually happened, the school would be full of it. I’m sure that they would just love to humiliate me. **_If_** they really heard me, but they didn’t, because it never happened.”

“I asked them not to talk about it. And Draco, they told us some details they heard that they couldn’t just make up.”

“Like what?”

“That you met your crush at Madam Malkin’s, for example. I mean, why would they be that specific if they really didn’t hear it.”

Another wave of pink colour spread over Draco’s cheeks. With his thumb still on Draco’s wrist, Harry felt Draco’s heart rate speed up. He knew that he had him.

“So, later that night, when I was thinking about it, I came to realize that you must have been talking about me.”

Draco almost looked at him after that. Harry wished to see his eyes clearly.

“And why do you think I was talking about you?”

Harry smiled. “Well, all those details kind of gave it away. I mean, I’m a boy, you asked **_me_** to the Ball, we’ve met at Malkin’s. It makes sense.”

“You’re not the only boy at Hogwarts.”

“Draco,” Harry sighed, “were you talking about me or not?”

The silence that came afterwards was enough of an answer for Harry. Draco’s eyes lowered a little.

“Draco, I can imagine how hard it must be for you that I know about your secret. But- I’m glad that I know. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here. You know, I’m too stubborn to admit my feelings. And honestly, if Seamus and Dean didn’t tell us about what they heard, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t realize that, despite how you’ve always treated me, **_you_** were the first wizard of my age I met. And **_you_** were a constant in my life ever since. Despite everything that’s ever happened between us, all that nasty stuff, I- I like you back.”

This time, silver eyes met the green ones.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am. Draco, I know that I’m not very good at this, at feelings, but- it’s truth. All that I just said. I know, it’s a shocker to me too, don’t worry.”

Draco snorted. “You’re impossible.”

“I know,” smiled Harry in an answer.

Draco took a deep breath. “So, what now?”

“I kind of liked the dancing, so- can we continue?”

Draco bit his bottom lip in an unsure manner. Harry suddenly felt an inexplicable need to lick the tender skin. ‘What? Harry calm down, will you?’

“You still want to dance?”

“Yes, please.”

“Alright,” Draco nodded. He took a deep breath and started to move them once more. Harry decided to play brave Gryffindor again and leaned closer, so that they were pressed chest to chest. Draco’s breath hitched, but after a moment of hesitation, he seemingly calmed down and hugged Harry closer. The dark haired boy smiled into the fabric of Draco’s dress robes. His nose was pressed into the crook of Draco’s neck, and he was surrounded with the blond boy’s scent again.   

When Draco entwined their fingers together and hummed contently, Harry thought that he wanted to stay like this forever.

Unfortunately, he knew that they couldn’t. After few minutes of peaceful silence, both boys heard voices coming from the distance. There were dozens of them, chatting and laughing. It was obvious that the Yule Ball was over, and attending students were coming back to their respective dormitories.

Harry looked up at Draco again. He saw a sad gleam in his grey eyes, and his heart jumped a little at the realization. Draco didn’t want to part either.

“So, I guess that’s it.”

“I guess that is. I- thank you for coming, Potter.”

“It was my pleasure, trust me. I really liked the dance. And the talking. Everything, really.”

“Yeah, me- me to.”

“Soooo…” Harry smiled shyly at Draco. He wanted to lean closer and kiss the other boy, but he wasn’t sure if it wouldn’t be too much. After all, they just came to realize what they felt towards each other, and Harry didn’t want to push his luck any further.

Draco seemed to come to the same decision, as he nodded and released Harry’s hand from his own.

“I guess that we should leave before some teacher catches us. It would be hell to explain what we’re doing here.”

“Yeah, with my luck, it would be Snape who would have the pleasure to find us. Can you imagine all those points he would take from us?”

“Just from you. I’m his favourite student, remember? I could just hex your head off and tell him that we were having a duel. I’m sure he would **_give_** me points for Slytherin, fifty at least.” There was no malice in his voice, and Harry couldn’t help to chuckle.

“You’re right.”

“Well, uhm-,” Draco ran one of his hands through the hair on back of his neck as he was looking at Harry. “Good night, Potter.”

“Good night, Draco.”

Harry smiled at Draco and lingered there for few seconds. Then he turned towards the door, even though it was the last thing he wanted to do.

Maybe he should have done it. He should have kissed Draco. It would be so much better ending to this evening, than just an awkward goodnight. ‘Harry, what were you thinking! Honestly, can be so stupid sometimes.’

When he was almost at the door, his heart skipped a beat as he heard swift steps behind him, and silent “Potter!” spoken with a shaky voice. He turned around, and was suddenly pressed with his back to the wall. More important thing was however, that he felt hands on both sides of his head, and there were soft lips pressed against his own.

Draco was kissing him.

**_Oh, God, Draco was kissing him!_ **

His heart stopped completely. Draco was kissing him. He couldn’t believe that it was really happening. What should he do?!

‘Kiss him back, dumbass!’ His inner voice shouted at him from the bottom of his lungs.

So Harry did. He closed his eyes and kissed back. When the initial shock passed, he slowly lifted his hands and ran his fingers through Draco’s hair. It was softer than he expected, and the first moment his fingers touched that silky heaven, he moaned contently into the kiss.

He could feel Draco’s tongue ran over his bottom lip, so he opened his mouth and welcomed him in. His whole body was overwhelmed with variety of new feelings, each better than the previous one. He was once more flooded with scent of flowers. The same scent that he could smell from Draco when they were dancing. He realized that it must have been Draco’s breath. ‘Whose breath smells of flowers?’

When they parted after what seemed like eternity, but must have been just few seconds, they were both breathing heavily, mostly form novelty and shock of what just happened than from anything else. They stayed there for a while, their foreheads pressed together.

Draco collected himself sooner from the two of them.

“This time, ugh- this really is goodnight.”

“Ok” Harry just nodded dumbly.

Draco chuckled.

“Good night than- Harry.” He leaned closer so that their lips touched once more. Then he smiled at Harry and left.

Harry stood in the classroom, with his heart beating at a record speed. He still couldn’t believe that it happened. That Draco kissed him.

His first kiss, and it was with Draco!

He ran two of his fingers over his oversensitive lips. He could still taste Draco on his tongue. He was sure that he would never taste anything better.

Harry smiled for himself. He couldn’t wait to kiss Draco again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, another chapter!!!
> 
> I wanted to post this before my planned break so here it is. This is the last chapter before my study break, which will last at least until the end of April, but probably also the first half of May. Don't worry, I'M NOT abandoning this story, I just really need to focus on my school work. But I hope I'll be back as soon as possible with another chapters. Please, be patient with me. 
> 
> All the mistakes that can be found in this story are mine, and I apologize in advance.
> 
> Still, have fun, I hope you'll enjoy this. :)

On the Boxing Day, Harry woke up much sooner than rest of other boys in their Gryffindor dormitory. His mind was immediately flooded with the memories of previous night.

The Ball. The classroom. The dancing. Draco’s scent. The kiss.

He grinned into his pillow.

His heart sped up as he remembered the feel of Draco’s lips on his own. The way it not only felt good. It felt right.

His grin grew wider.

After few more minutes of daydreaming, he decided it was time to get up. Slowly, he sat on his bed and opened the curtains surrounding it. In the feet of his bed, there was a pile of packages and boxes. Christmas presents from the Weasleys, Hagrid and his friends. On the bed next to his own, he saw Ron still deep in sleep, snoring every once in a while. His smile fell slightly.

When he came to the Gryffindor common room the previous night, he was just on time to catch last minutes of Hermione and Ron’s argument. He remembered how helplessly he felt when his friends were shouting at each other, hurting the other one with every single word. Something that Parvati told him last evening came to his mind. That Ron would not be happy about Hermione and Krum. At that moment, it made sense. Harry could slap himself at how oblivious he was. Ron must have felt the same as Harry did when he saw Parkinson with Draco before the Yule Ball. Of course Ron would be upset with Hermione going with Viktor. Of course, because Ron liked Hermione more than just a friend, even though he haven’t realized it yet! And of course Hermione would be upset with Ron, because for once, she wanted to be noticed by him, really noticed.

Harry shook his head at how stubborn both his friends could be. He just hoped that they will solve this tension between them as soon as possible. The previous year was bad enough, when they kept arguing over Crookshanks, and he really didn’t want to repeat it.

As silently as possible, he stood up and went to the bathroom. He tried to comb his hair, even though he knew it was a lost cause, and after brushing his teeth, he came back to the dorm. He grabbed a pair of jeans and his favourite sweater that Mrs. Weasley made for him.

 As expected, when he got to unwrapping his Christmas presents, he saw another one. It was blue with a golden egg on it. There were also green socks with dragons flying across the fabric. He chuckled and put his presents onto his bed. The next box was from Hermione. She gave him a new scarf, fluffy and treated with warming spells. Ron on the other hand gave him a sample collection of Chocolate frogs, each with a different filling. From Hagrid, he got a box of homemade gingerbreads. The last presents were two envelopes.

One was from the Dursleys. It was made out of plain paper, not different from the ones you could get at every post office. There was a letter where they were asking if he could stay at school during summer holidays and a stamp (probably for the reply they wanted him to send the muggle way). Just this, nothing else.

‘As if you were expecting something more.’ Harry sighed.

He put the envelope aside and grabbed the second one. This was quite pretty, made of silvery parchment and decorated with mistletoe in each corner. His name was written on it, in a handwriting Harry didn’t recognize.

When he opened it, there was a single sheet of parchment. His heart skipped a beat when he realized it was from Draco.

 

_Dear Harry,_

_I know that this letter must come as a surprise for you, but I couldn’t help it._

_I don’t have a real present for you, though I am sure you don’t have one for me either, it would be stupid of me to think that after just one kiss, so this letter must do._

_I just wanted to say that the last night was one of the best nights of my life. It made me happier than I can remember and it was all thanks to you._

_Also, I would like to see you again. If you want that too, perhaps we could meet in that classroom again this afternoon. Lets’ say around three o’clock. You don’t have to send an answer back, just know that I will be there._

_Merry Christmas_

_Yours, Draco._

Harry chuckled. He couldn’t help but grin at the letter. It was an odd mixture of cockiness in one paragraph and then vulnerability and hopefulness in another one. Harry thought that this letter must be pure Draco, real Draco, who was just hiding under the Malfoy mask. And Harry really liked what he saw there.

He pocketed the letter when he heard groaning and yawning coming from Ron’s bed. 

“Morning, Ron.”

“Morning, Ha- Ha- Harry,” he yawned again. “What time is it?”

Harry looked at his watch. It was half past eight.

“Bloody hell, how did I sleep in so late?”

“It must be exhaustion from the last night. You know, from all that dancing.” Dean’s voice came from the other side of the room. Seamus snorted from the bed beside his.

“Ha, bloody ha,” Ron grimaced. He then threw a pillow where Neville’s head rested in his own bed. “Hey, Nev, wake up! You don’t get to sleep when everyone else is awake.”

Neville shuffled in his bed and sat up cautiously, expecting more pillows to come flying in his direction. When no more pillows hit him, he looked around the room.

“What was that for!?” he asked in an exhausted voice.

“Ron thinks that when he’s awake, everyone else must be awake too,” smiled Harry. “Good morning, Neville.”

Neville just shook his head in desperation and went to the bathroom.

Harry stood up from his bed and turned to his best friend. “Well, it’s almost time for breakfast. I’ll wait on you in the common room, ok?”

Ron nodded again, still blinking into the morning light. Harry just chuckled and left.

The common room was almost free of people, only here and there were some of the older students, who knew they could sleep in. Younger students, who were still enthusiastic enough to get up early, were probably in the Great Hall already.

He sat in the armchair in front of the fireplace and rested his head on the top of the cushion. He ran one palm over the pocket where the letter from Draco was nestled in, kept in safety from prying eyes. He didn’t send his answer, he wasn’t exactly sure **_how_** he should do it, but Draco said in the letter that it wasn’t necessary. And really, it wasn’t. He knew that he would go see Draco again, no matter what.

‘What will we talk about? Will we kiss again? God, I hope we will.’

Sooner than later, Harry was joined by Ron and the rest of his friends. Together, they left to the Great Hall to have breakfast.

……………………………………………………………………………..  

During their journey to the Great Hall, Harry didn’t hear a word from the conversation his friends held.  He kept thinking about a certain blond Slytherin boy. His- boyfriend, perhaps? Were they really boyfriends? Harry marked this as one of the topic he wanted to ask Draco about later this afternoon.

Still, three in the afternoon seemed too far away. Harry just hopped to at least **_see_** Draco before that meeting. Date. Whatever it really was.

Harry sighed. ‘Well, it’s going to be a long day.’

Luck was on his side though, and he didn’t have to worry about waiting till afternoon to see Draco. As soon as Harry stepped into the Great Hall, he noticed Draco’s pale blond hair. The blond boy was sitting at the Slytherin table at his usual spot, with Parkinson by his side. Harry’s heart skipped a beat that exact moment. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but he could swear he saw almost unnoticeable smile playing on Draco’s face. Harry smiled for himself, and as he was passing the Hall, he kept his eyes on the blond. He was currently pouring milk in his cup of tea.

‘Three quarters of water, one quarter of milk, and two sugar cubes. Just how he likes it.’

Wait, what?! Did that just happen? Does he really know how Draco likes his tea? No. no, that’s not possible. Surely, his mind must be just playing with him now. That sort of things happen, right? It was just-

Right then, Draco put two sugars in his cup. Harry just snorted, rolled his eyes at his obliviousness and went to sit at his usual place next to Ron. Hermione was already sitting at the table, her breakfast almost finished. It seemed that she and Ron had agreed on a truce, considering they behaved unusually polite towards each other.

The whole breakfast, he didn’t pay attention to anybody. Instead, his mind kept Harry occupied with his own thoughts.

Did he really know so much about Draco? Did he really pay so much attention to him to know how he likes to have his tea? What other details about Draco did Harry subconsciously know, without actually realizing it?

‘God, and I really thought I liked Cho. Wow, just wow. How come I’ve never noticed that my attention was on Draco?’

He really was bad at feelings.

Still thinking about his obliviousness, he suddenly felt like someone was watching him. As soon as he realized that, his eyes shot to the Slytherin table, where he was met with the most beautiful silvery-grey. Draco was looking at him from across the Hall, holding cup of tea in both of his hands. His pink lips were quirked into a shy smile, just a little more noticeable than the one Harry saw upon his arrival. Harry noticed that Draco’s right hand jerked a little, as if he wanted to wave in greeting. He quickly grinned back at the blond, and because he was feeling particularly bold that morning, he winked at him in a playful manner. He then immediately turned his head so that he wasn’t that suspicious. When he looked back in Draco’s direction few heartbeats after, Draco wasn’t looking at him anymore. Instead, he was paying attention to his croissant and a bowl full of fruit he had for breakfast.   

It would sadden Harry if it weren’t for the blush that spread over Draco’s cheeks. Harry knew that even though Draco wasn’t looking at him at the moment, he still had his attention.

Just then, Ron shook his arm.

“Hey mate, are you even listening?”

“Huh? Sorry, Ron. I got lost in thoughts.”

 “Oh, right. What were you thinking at, anyway?”

“Ugh.. the Egg.”

“Mate, come on! It’s Christmas holiday. Relax!”

“Harry is right to think about the Egg, Ronald.” Hermione couldn’t help but cut in. “He only has two months until the second task.”

“Exactly, he has two months. **_Two months!_** That’s a lot of time.” And he waved his toast so enthusiastically that crumbs flew everywhere. Hermione looked disgusted at the sight, but remained quiet.

“Anyways, I wanted to tell you something. Last night when I was outside, I came across Hagrid and Madame Maxime. I really didn’t want to eavesdrop or anything, but I was trapped and couldn’t walk away. “

“How do you mean that? Trapped?”

Ron sighed. “The only way to get out of there would mean I would have to go near Fleur Delacour.”

Hermione snorted. “Yeah, that would be unfortunate.”

“Do you want to hear it or not?”

“Yes, yes, continue.”

 “Thanks,” grimaced Ron. He then leaned forward and motioned to both Hermione and Harry to do the same. When he spoke again, his voice was almost inaudible over all the noise other students were making.

“Well, Hagrid… he talked about some personal things. It was quite sad, you know. Hear about his childhood and his father’s death and all, but then he said something that- it’s very serious. Like, really, really bad.”

Harry’s heart fell. What could be so bad that Ron looked this worried. “Well, what was it?”

Ron sighed. “He… he admitted to her that he’s a half-giant.”

“Oh.” Harry was confused by that. It wasn’t that bad. Hermione too seemed nonplussed by this reveal.

“Well, it’s kind of obvious, isn’t it? Surely, you couldn’t think that he was a 100 % human, considering how tall he is and all.”

“But I didn’t think that his mother was a giant!”

“And it’s that bad?”

Ron turned to answer Harry’s question. “Yes, Harry. It is bad. I mean, giants in general aren’t exactly friendly folk, but… the worse thing is that during the war, they mostly sided with You-Know-Who. I remember stories Dad used to tell us sometimes. You-Know-Who used giants when he needed to destroy with as many victims as possible. Can you imagine it? You’re at your home and suddenly, a giant, I don’t even know how many feet tall, is destroying your home, your village, and killing everything that moves! It must be horrible.”

“But Hagrid is nothing like that!”

“I know! I know, trust me. But people are still mad at giants because of what they did back then. They joined the dark side willingly. And Hagrid just walks around telling about his giantess mother to some stranger. And then, to make it worse, he asked her how was like it in **_her_** family!”

“Well, he likes her. He probably thought that he found a soul mate in her. What did she say, anyway?”

“What do you think? She denied it, of course.”

“That wasn’t very nice from her.” Hermione shook her head. Ron just gapped at her.

“And you think that she would admit she’s half-giant? She would be stupid to do that.”

 Harry frowned. “I just hope she wasn’t harsh at him.”

“I’m afraid that she was. She basically left him there, in the snow, all alone. It was bad.”

They all looked at the teachers’ table. Hagrid was nowhere to be seen, and Harry felt sorry for one of his oldest friends. He couldn’t imagine what a broken heart felt like. Suddenly, his breakfast lost all of its appeal to him.

“Well, I think I’ll go visit him, to cheer him up, you know. If you’re done, we can go together.”

Ron nodded enthusiastically, but Hermione just waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “We can’t go, Ron. You need to write that essay for professor Sinistra, and if I remember correctly, you asked me to help with your homework for Potions and Tranfiguration. We agreed to start on it today.”

“But Hermione! It’s Hagrid, we-“

“He will understand. I’m sure he wants us to pass our exams. But, tell him that we will come visit him as soon as possible, will you Harry?”

“Sure. Yeah, good luck with that essay. And, uhm- I’m probably going to try and solve that egg in the afternoon, or at least give it a try. So, ugh, don’t look for me. I- I will be focused on the egg, you know. Solving it. It’s mystery.”

“Yeah, ok Harry. See you- when we see you, I guess. And good luck.”

“Thanks, Hermione. Bye.”

On his way from the Great Hall, his eyes wandered once again to the Slytherin table, but unfortunately, Draco was nowhere to be seen. And so Harry left the castle, and entered the snowy kingdom that the school grounds had become.

……………………………………………………………………………

Hagrid didn’t seem to be home. Or, at least he pretended to be somewhere else. Harry stood almost twenty minutes by his door, knocking at his friend to let him in. He knew that Hagrid was at home, there as smoke coming from the chimney, but it didn’t work. Hagrid was obviously in a very bad mood after the last night, and not even Harry could get past his defence.

Sighing, Harry turned back to the castle, and set back in a slow pace. As he was nearing the castle, he heard voices and shouts coming from the distance. Listening to his curiosity, he decided to follow them. The voices turned out to be Ginny, Fred and George. They seemed to be in a middle of a snow fight. He stood at the spot for a while, just watching them having fun. He grinned when Ginny managed to shot Fred in the middle of his forehead. He was sure that the red mark would stay on his forehead at least two days.

George was the first one to notice him.

“Hey, look who’s here! Do you want to join us?”

Harry hesitated a little, but only for the show. He then nodded and joined Fred in a discussion about their battle tactics against George and Ginny. Soon, they were all busy as they were trying to best the other team.

…………………………………………………………………………………

Harry didn’t even realize that it was quarter pas two already. The snow fight took the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon. He only grabbed sandwiches from the Great hall and parted ways with twins and Ginny, who wanted to have a proper lunch, which, luckily for them, was still served somehow.

On his way to the classroom where he was supposed to meet with Draco, he suddenly had an idea. He grinned for himself and turned to go to the Herbology classroom. He knew that professor Sprout had some muggle flowers in one of the greenhouses.

‘At least this way I will have something for him.’

It was five minutes past three when Harry, still trying to catch his breath, stepped into the classroom from the last night. At first, he couldn’t see anyone there, but soon he noticed a sofa in the left corner of the room. He was pretty sure it wasn’t there last night.

Draco was curled there, wrapped in a soft furry blanket. Only his head was visible, the rest of his body was hidden under the fabric. Harry couldn’t help but think how cute he looked. In front of the sofa, there was a small tea table with a packet of sweets and two mugs of steaming hot chocolate, which Harry could smell from across the room.

He looked the door and went to sit next to the Slytherin boy.

“Hi,” he breathed and bit his lip. “May I?”

“Hey. Yeah, sure.” Draco lifted the blanket so that Harry was able to sit right next to him. It was nicely warm under the blanket, but Harry knew that Draco was warmer. He remembered the last night, when they were dancing, how warm Draco’s hand felt on his lower back. He pressed closer to the other boy and the familiar warmth and scent radiating from Draco surrounded him.

“I, uhm, I have something for you. That’s why I was late.”

“It was just five minutes.”

“I know, but still. Umm, sorry for being late. And Merry Christmas.” Harry smiled and gave Draco a single flower he took from the greenhouse one. It was a yellow tulip, one of the few flowers Harry knew from aunt Petunia’s garden.

“You were right in that letter, I didn’t have a real present for you, but I still wanted to give you something.”

Draco smiled brightly. “Thank you Harry.”

He then drew his wand and conjured a vase for the flower. He filled it with water and gently put the tulip in. Then he set the vase on the tea table and turned back at Harry.

“Did you know that different flowers have meanings?”

“I’ve heard about it, but I don’t really know anything about the special meaning of flowers.”

Draco grinned wickedly. “So you don’t know what it means when you give a yellow tulip to someone?”

Harry flushed. What if he just indirectly told Draco to fuck off? “Ugh, no, I don’t know what yellow tulip means. Sorry if I offended you.”  

Draco chuckled. “You didn’t offend me. It basically means that you like my smile, and that I mean everything to you.”

“Oh. OH! Well, that’s good, right?” Harry wasn’t exactly sure how to react to that. Draco chuckled again.

“Don’t worry, I don’t think that you wanted to express your undying love to me, we’re not that far. But I really appreciate it. It shows that you really have some sort of feelings for me.”

“I do! I do, yeah. As I said yesterday, I like you.”

“I know. I like you too.”

“I know. Ah, yeah, uhm… Thanks for the letter. I really didn’t expect to receive anything from you and to be honest, it brightened my day.”

“That’s such a cliché,” snorted Draco. “But I’m glad you liked it.”

“Yeah. Uhm, listen, I wanted to ask you something.”

“And what is it?”

Harry bit his lip again. He ran his hand over the back of his neck in a nervous habit. “I wanted to know, if, uhm, this,” he gestured between himself and Draco, “if it means that we are dating.”

Draco tilted his head slightly to the right and looked into Harry’s eyes.

“Do you want it? Do you want to date me?”

“Yes,” said Harry immediately.

Draco smiled. “Me too. Then,” he leaned closer to Harry, “that’s exactly what it means. We are dating.”

He stopped just mere millimetres from Harry. Harry was intoxicated by his scent, and he felt dizzy by how fast his heart was beating. Eventually, he was the one who closed the distance between them.

Kissing Draco was just as good this time as it was the previous night. Lips on lips, tongues gently dancing together. Harry just couldn’t get enough of Draco’s mouth, the taste of something flowery and sweet, but there was something so undeniably Draco beneath too. It was just perfect.

Harry didn’t know how, but during their kiss, he must have pushed Draco down, so that the blond boy lay on his back, and Harry himself was sprawled over him, chests pressed together. When they parted from the kiss, Harry smiled at him.

“Sooo…. We are dating.”

“Uh, hmmm.”

“We are boyfriends.”

Draco hummed in a response. “Yes, we are.”

“Right. Uhm, are we going to date in public?”

Draco looked at him, and Harry’s heart fell when he saw worry in his stormy eyes. Draco then swallowed and cleared his throat. “I- I don’t think I’m ready to tell my parents. I mean, my mother would probably take it well, but my father…”

“Would he take it that badly?”

“You’ve seen him.”

Harry suddenly felt that there was more about Draco that the boy wouldn’t show to anyone. He remembered about his own childhood, how hard it was, and he thought that growing up as an heir to one of the few pureblood families, especially the one as Malfoys, must have been almost as difficult. And yes, he knew Lucius, and he could imagine the type of strict upbringing Draco must have gone through.

He lifted one of his hands and stroked Draco’s cheek affectionately. His heart plummeted in its rate ad Draco leaned into the touch.

“We don’t have to tell anyone. I’m not ready myself to tell my friends and family. So we’ll keep it a secret for now. After all, we’re only fourteen. We have time to figure out how to tell your father without him ending up in St. Mungo’s.”

Draco snorted, and Harry could feel his chest vibrate with silent laughter. “Thank you, Harry. It means a lot to me.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

They lay like that for few more minutes, sometimes just looking at each other, sometimes kissing softly.

“I have one last question.”

“And what would that be?”

“Why does your breath smell like flowers?” asked Harry. “Not that I don’t like it, I’m just curious,” he added quickly, as he saw Draco frown slightly.

“It’s because of this candy.” He stretched his left arm and took one candy out of the bowl from the tea table. When he brought it closer, Harry saw that it had a shape of flower. And indeed, it smelled almost the same as Draco tasted.

“It’ called _Fialky._ It’s supposed to taste like violets. Mother once brought it from her holidays in central Europe where she was visiting one of her friends, and I just fell in love with it. Ever since then, it’s became my favourite. Father hates it, though. It’s muggle-made.”

Harry lifted his eyebrows. “You, Draco Malfoy, like muggle sweets? Who would have thought!?”

Draco rolled his eyes, but smiled nevertheless. “Yes, surprise, I know. Here, try it.”

Harry, the impulsive idiot he was, didn’t use his hands. Instead, he ducked his head and stole the sweet with his own mouth. He teasingly licked Draco’s fingers and hummed contently when the sweet flavour hit his taste buds. It really was good, maybe too sweet for his likes, bud still good. He cockily smiled at Draco, who was now blushing with bright pink.

“Gryffindor jerk.”

“Slytherin prick.”

“Oh, come here.” And Draco pulled him closer for another kiss. They shared the sweet as they were kissing and the thought of it shot electric waves of pleasure through Harry’s whole body. It was naughty and innocent at the same time.

He groaned when the edge of his glasses bore into his nose. “Wait, wait, Draco.”

They parted again, and Harry quickly took the glasses of, he set then on the table when he noticed the two mugs there. He totally forgot about them.

“What about the chocolate? Won’t it get cold?”

Draco shook his head. “No, I put a warming spell on it.”

“Good.” Harry grinned again. “Then we have more time for this.” And he cuddled closer to his boyfriend. Draco started drawing patterns with his long fingers on his back, and Harry hummed contently into the blond boy’s neck. They stayed like that for the rest of the afternoon, and in the evening, they had a really nice view of the first sunset they would watch together.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright everyone, I'm back!
> 
> I know that when I posted previous chapter, I said that the new one won't be here sooner than the end of April. Luckily, I had some time to write this, so I hope the wait was worth.  
> This chapter is bit of a rollercoaster, if I can say it like that. Prepare yourself for some fluff and feels. Also, it contains mentions of past misscariage, so consider yourself warned!  
> I read it over and over again, so I hope there won't be any mistakes. If there are, I'm sorry in advance. I tried.
> 
> Anyway, have fun and see you as soon as possible :)

Harry couldn’t believe how quickly the rest of the year went. Yes, there were only few days left of 1994, but still… how could time go so fast?

‘It’s probably because you’re happy,’ was the answer his inner voice offered.

And deep down, Harry knew it was truth. He was happy, happier than ever.

Since there weren’t any lessons during holidays, he spent most of his time with Ron and Hermione. Those were mostly peaceful moments, filled with laughing, playing wizard chess or talking about this and that. Even though it was month ago, Ron was still fascinated with the tiny figure of Hungarian Horntail dragon that Harry got to keep from the first task.

“It’s the second coolest thing, mate, just after having real dragon.”

“Yes, because we have so many good experiences with real dragons, Ronald. Have you already forgotten about our first year?”

“How could I forget that, Hermione? I know that Norbert wasn’t the friendliest creature, but this, this is still cool. At least this one won’t eat you alive when she grows up.”

Harry smiled at his friends’ playful bickering. He was glad that the argument they had after the Yule Ball didn’t ruin their friendship. Looking at the figure currently sitting on Ron’s right shoulder, he remembered another ‘dragon’ he was fond of. His smile grew wider.

Every part of the holidays that he didn’t spend with his friends, he was with Draco. After that day on which they officially started to date, the kept meeting in, what Harry soon nicknamed ‘their classroom’. Draco, the clever Slytherin he was, shielded it with a spell that would protect them from any students wandering the corridors.

“Just in case. It will repel anyone who would want to look inside.”

“We could just lock the doors, Draco.”

“Of course we will lock . But this is another precaution.”

In just those few days, Harry learnt so much about him. He already assumed that Draco wasn’t just cold, heartless copy of his father. Hell, the letter Draco sent him on 24 December served as pretty good evidence. But it was nice to see it for real.

During their dates, they still cuddled on the sofa and kissed, but not as much as they did during their first date. It seemed that their relationship wasn’t that much about kissing, but more about spending time with each other. Just being together felt good. Although, Harry soon realized that Draco needed some kind of physical contact, so they usually held hands, or at least brushed their fingers from time to time. Harry never complained. To be honest, he probably needed this kind of contact as much as Draco did. Draco’s skin always felt nice under his fingers, and he particularly liked how their skin tones contrasted. When they hugged, the warmth spreading from Draco was so captivating that he never wanted to leave. And so they kept doing that, kept holding hands, kept showing affection to each other, kept being close to each other.

They also spent hours and hours with talking. And they talked about almost everything. To his surprise, once Draco opened up to him, he decided to share many childhood memories with Harry. And that way Harry learnt that thanks to his ancestors, Draco started to learn French when he was six years old, and is now fluent. He learnt that Draco has a musical talent and can play a piano. He also learnt that Draco was a cat person, which, to be honest, didn’t come as a surprise. No, Harry could totally see Draco in a big, old house, followed by cats with every step he took, like some kind of cat master. The picture made him burst in a fit of giggles, which earned him a concerned look from Draco. When he told the blond about that idea, the laughed for ten minutes straight.

Some topics weren’t that pleasant though. Harry’s heart ached when Draco, tears running down his face, told him about how his mother miscarried when Draco was seven. Harry then held shaking and sobbing Draco for more than an hour, until he finally calmed down.

“Mother already had problems when she was expecting me. And after that- after that, they never tried again. I really don’t blame them, mother almost died. I just- I don’t know what I would do if it actually happened. She’s so important for me and-“

“It’s alright, Draco. She didn’t. She’s still here for you. And so am I.” Harry tried to sooth the blond boy while he hugged him closer to his own body, keeping him safe. “It’s alright. I’m here for you.”

“Thank you, Harry,” came in a barely audible whisper. “Thank you.”

Another day, Draco told him about what happened when Harry freed Dobby two years ago, how Lucius threw a fit which affected Draco too.

“When I asked him what happened, he was furious and refused to answer. Then I found out the truth. Dobby was actually the one elf I was friendlier with. With the exception of mother, Dobby was the one who took care of me when I was little. So when I said that he served us well and deserved to be freed after such a long time he spent with us, he lost it. It was the first and the last time father ever hit me. After that day, our relationship has never been the same.”

“Draco, I’m sorry. It was my fault and if-“

“No, it wasn’t. You just wanted to help a friend. What happened, happened.”

“But-“

“No. Harry, please, stop blaming yourself. It really wasn’t your fault. Now come closer.” And he pulled at Harry’s left arm. “This blanket isn’t getting any larger and my feet are getting cold.”

Harry also shared some of his own memories with Draco. It was difficult at first, but soon enough, he was able to tell Draco about his time spent at the Dursleys. So he told Draco how they used to lock him in a cupboard under the stairs. How he used to do chores ever since he was able to walk. How, sometimes, he would go the whole day without a single meal. And also how he accidentally trapped Dudley in a snake terrarium at the zoo when he was eleven, or how he inflated aunt Marge the last year. After these confessions, the room was filled with tense silence. Draco was horrified and at loss of words at first, but when he found his voice again, he was furious.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, she was talking trash about my parents, and I lost my temper and accidentally-“

“No! No, Harry, I’m talking about how your family starved you!”

“Uhm, it wasn’t that bad. I mean, I could eat leftovers and sometimes, I sneaked out of the cupboard and had real meal.”

“Harry, that’s not- How could they do that to you!? They are your family! And I know that my own isn’t exactly the healthiest one, but still-“

“They’re not my family. They are just my relatives. The Weasleys are my family.”

“Harry,” Draco said in an exasperate voice. “I can’t believe that they treat you so badly. Does someone know?”

“The Weasleys.”

“And besides them?”

“Dumbledore. He was the one who left me there.”

Draco’s eyes turned from silvery-gray into stormy. “So Dumbledore knows! Why doesn’t he do anything about it?”

“I guess that he had a reason to leave me there. And honestly, it’s not as bad as it used to be. I have my own room now.”

“Harry-“

“Draco, leave it. I only go back in summer. Just for two months, and the rest of the year I spend here or at the Weasleys. And after I’m seventeen, I will move out, don’t worry. I don’t plan on staying there.  Now, it seems that you missed the whole thing about aunt Marge. It happened when she was visiting with her favourite dog….”

And he kept babbling for the rest of the afternoon about better parts of his life. He was glad that Draco respected his wishes and didn’t push any further. It seemed like some sort of unspoken agreement between them. When one wasn’t comfortable about some topic and didn’t want to talk about it any further, the other didn’t inquire any more. That was also the big part of why he felt so comfortable with Draco’s presence. They both knew the other sometimes needed time for himself, and respected it.

They tried to see each other as often as possible, and on the New Year’s Eve, they lay on the thick blanket that Draco spread over the floor, sipped on hot chocolate, and counted down moments until midnight. Then, they shared one of the best kisses yet.

Of course, it wasn’t only good times.

Harry had no idea how Rita Skeeter managed to hear Hagrid on the night of the Yule Ball, but soon enough, there was an article in the Daily Prophet about Hagrid’s half-giant origins. And if Hagrid was avoiding Harry and his friends before, it was nothing compared to the days after that damned article. When school started against fterbthe New Year, the Care of Magical Creatures was held by Professor Grubby-Plank, and elderly witch who was a great teacher, but Hagrid’s absence felt heavy upon all the Gryffindors.

The Slytherins had a field day during their first lesson without Hagrid. Theodore Nott particularly was enjoying himself when he showed the bloody newspaper to Harry and Ron. He was clearly in seventh heaven while he watched them suffer. When the girls came back from petting the unicorn Professor Grubby-Plank showed them, it only got worse as Pansy Parkinson joined Nott and his insults they kept throwing at Hagrid’s head. The only good thing was that Draco tried to distance himself from all of that. Sometimes he snickered or shortly laughed at Nott’s mockery, but he was mostly quiet. He was visibly uncomfortable, he knew how important Hagrid was to Harry and it was obvious that he didn’t want to hurt Harry’s feelings.

‘You have to thank him for that later,’ Harry thought, as they were nearing the castle, voices of Slytherin students still audible in the distance behind them.

Hagrid’s absence troubled Harry immensely, but he also had another thing that weighted him down like a boulder.

The golden egg.

It was unbelievable that this was the topic Hermione and Draco unknowingly agreed on. Both of them tried to help Harry, he was sure of it, but the constant “You have less than two months, Harry, you should really work on it. I only hope you'd listen to me more.” and “Now it makes much more sense that Granger is the brain of your group. Really, you are smart but I’m sure that I could help you, if you want. Also, this ‘putting things off’ isn’t very effective when it comes to anything, really.” slowly drove him crazy.

And so halfway through January, on Saturday, he made a decision. It was the day of another Hogsmeade visit and it turned out to be a turn point for Harry.  Well, not necessarily the visit itself, but what happened when they were leaving Three Broomsticks. Unfortunately for Harry's mental health, they bumped into Rita Skeeter herself, along with her photographer Bozo. Just before that happened, Harry had an uncomfortable conversation with Ludo Bagman. It was the second time the former Qudditch player offered him his help with the Tournament, and Harry felt uneasy about it. It seemed suspicious, and it only got worse when Harry asked Bagman if he offered help also to Cedric. After his negative answer, Harry quickly decided to decline Bagman’s offer once again and he, Ron and Hermione quickly left. Just to cross paths with Skeeter.

The following conversation was one big argument. Hermione insulted Skeeter, Skeeter insulted Hermione, and then she demanded an interview with Harry. Harry, who didn’t forget about the whole thing with Hagrid, didn’t almost bother with an answer. If she wants to ruin his friends’ lives, he doesn’t have anything to tell her. After that, Skeeter, always the prying one, offered him an opportunity for another interview, this time about Hagrid. This just boiled his blood more than it already was. Luckily for him, Hermione was the one to end the conversation with the annoying witch. That’s how Harry found himself and Ron following angered Hermione to Hagrid’s Hut.

When they were allowed inside (Dumbledore was the one who opened the door and let them in), they saw that Hagrid was a mess. They tried to sooth him, they kept telling him that no matter what, he still was their friend. That anyone who knew him cared if he really was half-giant or not. He was still Hagrid that they loved. The smile that played on Hagrid’s bearded face lifted Harry’s heart, only for it to fall moments later when Hagrid patted his shoulder and said: “You show ‘em, Harry. You’ll win the Tournament and show ‘em all.

That was when Harry decided to listed to the advice Cedric gave him. He would go to the Prefects’ bathroom and solve the egg’s mystery.

And if he invited Draco with him, what harm could it do? After all, Draco said many times that he wanted to help Harry, so this was the perfect opportunity.

…………………………………………………………………

On Thursday night, Harry grabbed the golden egg, his Invisibility cloak and Marauder's Map, and with Ron's help, he sneaked out of the Gryffindor common room. The journey to the fifth floor was eventless and he was glad for it. After all, bumping into Filch or Mrs Norris wasn't his idea of well spent night.

The day before, he asked Draco to come with him. After just a slight moment of hesitation, the blond boy agreed, which made Harry immensely happy. It would be their first date outside of 'their room', and it made Harry tremble with anticipation.

"Oh, and don't forget to bring your swimming trunks."

"What?"

"Swimming trunks, Draco. Surely you've heard about them."

"Yes, but why would I need swimming trunks? I thought that we were staying inside."

"We are, but..... Just in case."

"Just in case of what exactly?"

"I don't know. Aaaand that's the point."

"You're impossible."

Harry just smiled mischievously. "That's one of many things you like about me."

"Surprisingly, it's true."

"Aww, I wish I could tell everyone how sweet you are."

"Don't you dare, Potter. I have a reputation to keep."

Harry arrived to the fifth floor in no time. As Cedric said, the tapestry with Boris the Bewildered was on its place, and it certainly was eight to behold. The door next to it were, indeed, locked.

"Pine-fresh," whispered Harry, and immediately entered the bathroom.

The egg almost slipped out of his hands how shocked he was with the sight. The bathroom was huge, with large windows made out of variously coloured glass, which together made sun light (now moon light) that was coming through look like a rainbow. There was a swimming pool- like bath in the middle of the room, in a shape of a big rectangle. And around, thousands of faucets and taps, that were surrounding it from three sides. The last one had stairs in the middle, thank led into the bath. There were also benches and stools, where students could put their clothes while they were taking bath, and shelves full of fresh towels, bars of soaps, and bottles of shampoos in as many variations as one could imagine.

"Well, just for this, it wouldn't be so bad to become a Prefect.”

Harry crossed the room, and put his Invisibility Cloak and the egg on one of the stools. He took off his clothes, until he was only in bright red swimming trunks.

He wondered if Draco was on his way already.

"Well, what now?" He sighed.

"You could continue with undressing," came in a high voice from behind him.

Harry gasped and turned around. His eyes widened in shock.

"Myrtle?! What-?"

Moaning Myrtle was sitting on one of the benches at the other side of the bathroom. She had her hair in pigtails as usual, and she was grinning at him. It sent shivers down Harry's spine, not in a good way.

"What are you doing here?"

"I come here sometimes. It's one of my favourite free time activities, you know?"

"No I don’t," Harry gulped. "So, ehm, you come here and watch Prefects take baths?"

" I don't have many options."

"Gross."

Her eyes narrowed. "What would you do if you were in my - condition?"

"Ugh, I would not watch naked aunderage boys take baths. I suppose they have no idea you come here, right?"

"No, they don't."

"Well, that's - that's quite creepy, you know?"

"Maybe." She stood up and floated closer to him over the pool bath. "I missed you."

"Ugh, uhm... really?"

"Yes. You promised to come and visit me, but you never did."

"Yes, well... I never had time, you see. Besides, you live in a girls' bathroom. Which means I'm not allowed there." Harry took small step back.

"It didn't stop you before."

"Eh, I don't..." Harry didn't know what to do. He wished Draco came in and saved him, but at the same time, it could be dangerous if Myrtle saw them together. 'Well, desperate times call for desperate measures.'

"You see, it's not that I, ugh, don't like your company. It just seems morbid to spend time with someone who's **dead**." He tried to emphasize the word 'dead' as much as possible.

His words had immediate effect. Myrtle's eyes filled with years behind her nick glasses, and her lower lip started to quiver.

"Why did you say that? You know how I fell about my... existence! Cedric at least was nice. He also came here with the egg, you know? He solved the egg here. And when I heard you tonight, I wanted to help you. Because I like you. But you know what?," Myrtle sobbed "I'm not helping you any more!" And with high pitched screech, she left through the wall.

Harry sighed and leaned his back on the wall. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 'Well, that went well.'

"That was quite harsh, Potter."

"Oh my God, Draco!" Harry's heart sped up as the blond boy startled him. He looked at him with eyes wide open, breathing heavily. Draco was just casually leaning on his side pressed to the door. There was a lazy smirk on his face.

"You startled me, you idiot!"

"My apologies." There was no remorse in his voice. Harry snorted and crossed his arms.

"How long have you been there?"

"Few minutes."

"Few minutes? You could have helped me!"

"You looked like you were having fun."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You prat."

Draco giggled. "You handled it well. But honestly, if she wouldn't have left soon, I would interfere, don't worry. She was too... uhm, touchy with you."

"Touchy? She didn't touch me or anything."

"I meant too close."

Harry lifted one eyebrow. "Are you jealous?"

Draco snorted. "No."

"I think you are."

"I'm not!"

Harry smiled at him fondly. "Whatever you say. Hi."

"Hi," smiled Draco back. He looked around the room. "I have to admit that this is very nice. Fancy. How did you know about this bathroom since you're not Prefect?"

"Cedric told me," answered Harry casually. He went closer to Draco, to greet his boyfriend properly, only to see the blond boy frown. "What?"

" **Cedric** told you?"

"Yes. He told me to come here and bring the egg with me. He also told me the password.

 "I wonder why would he do that." The coldness of his voice startled Harry for a moment, but then he realized what was the problem.

"Aww, you definitely are jealous."

Draco snorted in an answer, his eyes refusing to meet Harry's.

"There's no need to be jealous, Draco." He sneaked his arms around Draco's body and pressed his naked chest to Draco's clothed one. "Please, look at me."

Draco sighed and rolled his eyes, but complied nevertheless.

Harry smiled at him. "You can trust me on this: I don't want Cedric, no matter how handsome or nice he is. I want you. You are the only one on my mind."

"No matter how **handsome** he is? You're walking on thin ice, Potter!"

"Oh, come on. I'm just teasing you. And don't pretend like you yourself don't think that he's handsome,"

"Umm, he's not exactly bad looking."

"See?"

"Ugh...Fine," sighed Draco.

"Fine," said Harry softly and leaned closer to kiss Draco. Since the blond boy was few inches taller than him, Harry had to lift himself to stand on his tiptoes. Only then he was able to press soft kiss to Draco's lips. Draco immediately kissed back, deepening the kiss, and sneaked both his hands into Harry's hair. When they parted, there was no anger or coldness in his gray eyes, just warmth and tenderness.

"I can be nice too, you know?"

"I do."

"And I definitely am handsome."

Harry snorted. "Incredibly handsome."

"Alright. You're forgiven."

Harry laughed at that. "Wow, thank you."

"You're welcome," said Draco playfully. "What now? You wanted me to help you with the egg. So why are we here?"

"Cedric told me to solve the egg here. I don't exactly know how I'm supposed to solve it, but he said something like 'relax, take a hot bath and think about it, it surely will help,' and - oh, come on, don't start again!"

"I'm not!" Obviously, Draco still didn't like the idea of Cedric inviting his Harry to have a hot bath, judging by his narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Well, I didn't want to do follow his advice at first, but then I though why the hell not? I have nothing to lose and maybe, it really will help. And since **my boyfriend** kept telling me to solve the egg already, and begging me to let him help, I said to myself 'screw it, if I don't solve it, at least I will spend time with Draco'. Do you finally get it?"

Draco sighed. "Yes, I do. Sorry, it's just-" he hesitated. "I - I know how I treated you in the past, so I still can't fully believe that you would willingly be with me. I don't know, I just think that perhaps one day, I will say something wrong, and you'll realize that you deserve better than me and-"

"Draco," whispered Harry softly and ran his palm over Draco's left cheek. "I'm not going to leave you. I know you try because of me. When that article came out, you didn't make fun of Hagrid more than was necessary to keep your 'Malfoy mask' on. You don't insult my friends as often as you used to, and only when there are other Slytherins around. I noticed that, you know? And it means so much for me. It's partly my fault. I should have thanked you much sooner for it. So thank you. Thank you for trying. It means so much and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. I need you to know that I'm here, I'm not going anywhere, ok?"

Draco still had worried expression on his face, but it slowly transformed into an affectionate smile. "Ok," he said softly.

“Well, now, off with your clothes, Draco. You didn’t forget about the swimming trunks I told you about, right?”

“Of course I didn’t forget.” Draco started undressing himself. Harry felt rush of blood in his cheeks, as Draco uncovered his longs pale legs and lean torso. The blond was already wearing grey swimming trunks, which Harry was sure held the same colour as Draco’s eyes. It was very obvious that Draco wasn’t as muscular as Harry, but every muscle was defined thanks to many Qudditch practices. Harry couldn’t stop staring at him.

“What?”

“What?” Harry lifted his eyes to meet Draco’s, which sparkled playfully.

“You were staring.”

Harry just shrugged. There was no point in denying it. “Yeah, I was. Can you blame me?”

“You idiot.” Draco giggled and shook his head. “So I guess that we’ll have the bath now. Are we taking the egg with us?”

“Ugh, I suppose so.” And Harry turned around to get the egg. When he came back from the stool, Draco was already opening various taps to fill the pool. It didn’t take much time and it was full of fragrant water. There were also bubbles in dozens of colours lazily floating on the surface.

“Alright then. Lets’ go in.” And instead of using steps, Draco jumped into the pool, splashing Harry in the process. When he resurfaced, he was grinning like a maniac. “What are you waiting for, Potter?”

“You’ll pay for this, Malfoy. Mark my words.”

“Sure, but get in already.”

Harry rounded the pool and slowly descended the stairs into the water. It was nicely warm, and smelled really good. Luckily for him, the side of the pool when he was standing wasn’t that deep. The water barely reached his waistline. On the other side, it was obvious that Draco couldn’t reach the bottom, although he was the taller one.

Draco quickly swam towards Harry. “And now what, you just open it?”

“I suppose. Watch out, it makes really loud noise.”

“I’m friends with Pansy. I’m sure I can take it.”

Harry snorted. “If you think so.” And he opened the egg.

Immediately, the bathroom was filled with screeches, magnified by the echo of the room. It was much worse than usual.

Grimacing, Draco gestured to Harry to close the egg. He did, and the silence that followed was almost deafening.

“You weren’t kidding, it really was loud.”

“Yeah. I just hope no one heard it, otherwise we’re screwed.” Harry looked hopelessly at the egg. “How am I supposed to solve this? It just shouts and screams every time I open it. I really have no idea what to do.”

“ Hmmm… to be honest, I think I’ve heard this noise before somewhere.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I just can’t properly remember where it was. Let me think about it.” And he leaned on the edge of the pool, frowning slightly.

“I have no idea why Cedric couldn’t just tell me how to solve this. After all, I told him everything I knew about the first task.”

“You knew about the dragons before?”

“Yes.”

“But you weren’t supposed to.”

“That’s correct.”

 "That's impossible. How come you always have information you shouldn't have?"

"I have my ways." Harry grinned and got out of water to get his Invisibility Cloak. "See this?"

"Yeah, what- wait, is that Invisibility Cloak?"

"Yep. That's how I get around castle without anyone noticing."

"So it **was** you in Hogsmeade last year! It was your head I saw there!"

Harry just nodded.

"You fucker! At least I only splashed you with water. It smells like fucking flowers and you, you threw that bloody mud at me! It stank, Potter! I had to wash my hair at least five times!"

"Sorry. But you were being a jerk back them. You deserved it."

"Pffff."

"Come on. It was last year."

"It doesn't mean I'll forget!"

"But you and forgive me." Harry smiled and playfully fluttered his eyelashes at Draco, who was currently sulking in the water. The blond boy rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Fiiine, I forgive you."

"Thank you." Harry put the cloak back and returned to Draco. He out the egg on the pool edge, and settled himself with his back pressed to Draco's chest, with only their heads above the water surface.

"What are you doing?"

"Waiting for you to cuddle with me."

Draco sneaked his arms around Harry's hips and hugged him closer. Wave of ran through Harry’s body at the closeness of Draco’s almost naked body pressed to his own.

"Happy?"

"Almost."

Draco chuckled and rested his chin on Harry's shoulder. "What about now?"

"You're getting closer."

Draco then started to suck at Harry's neck, licking its tender skin and planting hungry kisses there.

"Oh, perfect," moaned Harry in content. His breath stuttered when Draco bit him. He was sure that if heaven existed, it must feel like this.

"So, ugh, did you - oh, Draco - did you remember?"

"Remember what?"

"Where you heard that egg's screech before."

"Not yet." He nuzzled into Harry's neck and breathed in his boyfriend's scent. "But I'm sure it was here at Hogwarts." He hesitated in attempt to concentrate on his thoughts. "I'm used to taking strolls on the school grounds with Pansy and Blaise. I'm sure it was sometime during one of these walks. In the second year, I think. Umm, let me think about it..." He narrowed his eyes. "I'm pretty sure that we were near the Lake. Yes, Pansy kept complaining about how her new shoes would be destroyed if we got any closer to the water. It was ridiculous. They were actually really ugly, covered in fake gemstones. And Blaise thought the same. He laughed at her and said that he would be more worried about Grindylows trying to drown her because she brought something that hideous near their home."

Harry snorted. He remembered those shoes. They really were atrocious.

"She started to scream that we had no sense of fashion and then -" Draco tensed. "Harry, then we heard it! I asked Severus about it and- oh, sweet Merlin, I'm so stupid! I know now!"

Harry looked at his boyfriend, whose grey eyes were wide open. "What was it, Draco?"

"Put the egg under water."

"What?" Harry furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Trust me, Harry. Put it under water."

"Alright, if you think so." He grabbed the egg and held it under the water surface.

"Now we have to dive too."

"Draco, this is ridiculous."

"Please, Harry. I know what I'm doing."

"Ugh, fine," nodded Harry. They both held their breath and dived. Small bubbles of air that sticked to Draco's face gave him some sort of ethereal appearance, and Harry was sure that he looked the same. The blond boy nodded and gestured for Harry to open the egg. When he did, instead of inhuman screech that the egg usually released, the water filled with divine voices

At first, Harry didn't expect something like that, so it took him some time to adjust, but soon enough, he could distinguish words perfectly. And what he heard wasn't nice.

Both boys resurfaced and looked at each other with frightened expression.

"Did I really hear what I think I did?"

Draco gulped. "Probably. But, we should listen to it some more. Perhaps we missheard or something."

"Yeah, ok."

..........................................

"How the hell are you supposed to survive underwater for an hour? What are they playing at?"

"Draco, calm down."

Draco looked at Harry as if he just grew second head. "Calm down? **Calm down?!** How am I supposed to calm down?"

"It's not that bad, Draco," tryed Harry to sooth him. It didn't work though.

Draco gaped at him. "It's not that bad?! Do I have to remind you that you have to find a way how to survive whole hour under water with creatures like Giant Squid, Grindylows, merpeople and so many others, while trying to retrieve what you hold the dearest, which the merpeople took from you? Do you understand how **dangerous** merpeople are?"

Harry, who was still ecstatic about the fact that merpeople were real, just shrugged his shoulders. "I've faced worse. Last year, it was the Dementors and a werewolf. Year before, a Basilisk bit me. And the first year, Quirrell had a freaking Voldemort sticking from back of his head! I think that I can handle merpeople."

Draco shook his head. "You'll be in their habitat. Underwater, Harry! It's not just about facing wild and bloodthirsty creatures. It's about surviving in the first place. We’ll have to find a way how you'll breath , unless you want to spend the rest of your life there."

"They sang that I'll be there just for one hour, didn’t they?"

"You'll spend the rest of your life there if you'll be dead. And you will if we don't find a way-"

"Draco." Harry took the blond's face into his hands and moved closer to him. Their lips met for a brief moment, but it was long enough to silence the Slytherin boy. When he looked into Draco's eyes, Harry's heart ached because of the worry he saw in them.

"Don't worry, Draco. I have Hermione and Ron, I always survived with their help. And now, I also have you. If they won't find something, you will. **We** will, Draco. Together. We will find something. I'm sure that Dumbledore and the Ministry wouldn't give us something impossible as a task. We still have a month to find something."

"Aren't you nervous?" Draco placed a soft kiss on Harry's forehead.

"No. At least not yet."

"Is it because you're a reckless Gryffindor?"

"Possibly."" He nuzzled his nose into crook of Draco's  neck. "Don't worry about me, Draco. I'll be fine."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys,
> 
> another chapter is here! :)  
> I don't even know what to say, this chapter was quite difficult for me, the writer's block hit me hard, so I hope you'll find it at leat a little interesting.  
> This is the first time I used Draco's point of view. It's in the second part of the chapter. I plan on having more chapters written from Draco's perspective, so I just wanted to let you know that it's not one time occasion.
> 
> Anyway, sorry for mistakes that you may find. I hope you'll like this chapter nevertheless. See you soon (at least I hope so) :)

The next day at breakfast, Hermione was really pissed. “I can’t believe that you lied to me, Harry!”

“Hermione, please…. It wasn’t exactly a lie.”

“Yes, it was. You told me just a week ago that you already solved the egg, but you didn’t. Hence the lie.”

Harry sighed. It was early morning and he was so not in the mood for this conversation.

“I didn’t technically lie to you. I said that I had a pretty good idea what the solution was, not that-“

“Harry! I am trying to help. Ron is trying to help. But if you don’t tell us-“

“Give him a break, Hermione! Seriously, I thought that you would be more interested in fact that Harry saw Barty Crouch in Snape’s office than in scolding him about the egg! He solved it and that’s what matters. So leave it be.” Ron was sitting at Gryffindor table right next to Harry, his half eaten breakfast in front of him.  During the whole conversation, he kept stuffing his mouth full of bread and scrambled eggs, just nodding at what Harry was telling them, but when he saw how harsh Hermione was with Harry, he just couldn’t help himself to interfere.  

The gratitude Harry felt towards his best friend was greater than ever. He smiled exasperatedly at the freckled ginger boy, who nodded back as if he was saying ‘I have your back, mate’. Hermione, who was sitting on the other side of the table, kept frowning at the two boys. She obviously didn’t agree with Ron.

“Harry, as I said, I’m just trying to help you.” She grabbed his forearm as if she wanted to keep him from running away. “This Tournament is dangerous and you should take it more seriously! And NOT keeping things from us!”

“I am taking it seriously, Hermione, trust me. But, you can be so bossy sometimes, that it feels easier to keep some things for myself and deal with them on my own!” He felt pang of guilt the moment those words left his mouth. Ron gapped at him with his mouth open, his food forgotten for the moment, and across the table, Hermione’s face fell as she looked at the table.

“Oh no, Hermione, I didn’t mean-“

“Yes, you did,” she said quietly and let go of him. “I- Harry, I’m sorry that you feel that way, but I’m only trying to help you, really. You are my friend and I’m truly afraid that something bad will happen to you.” She took a deep breath so she could continue, but before she could say more, Harry interrupted her.

“Hermione, listen. What I said doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate your advices and your care, but… maybe don’t push that much, ok? I know that your intentions are good, but sometimes- sometimes it just feels like too much.” He quickly took hold of her hand that previously held his own, and squeezed assuringly. Harry’s heart fell a little when he saw tears prickling in her eyes. “It doesn’t mean that you’re not important to me, Hermione. Quite the opposite. I wouldn’t survive without your and Ron’s help, and I don’t know what I would do without you two. You are both like my family, like my brother and sister, and I appreciate what you do for me. I know that I can be difficult sometimes, but I promise I’ll try to be better. I’ll try to listen to you more. Can **you** promise me that you won’t be that strict with me in return?”

He smiled at her, he hoped she understood. Even though she needed to hear what he said, he felt like his words might have cut too deep. 

She sniffed and nodded. “I’ll try, Harry. It might take some time, but I promise I’ll try.”

“Thank you, ‘Mione.”

“Wow, mate…” Ron said in a voice, which surprised Harry. He turned his head and saw Ron shaking his head. “That was quite a topic for morning conversation, let me tell you. Do you really think about us like your family?”

“Yes,” said Harry without hesitation.

“It’s the first time you told us,” Hermione piped from her seat.

“Really?”

“Yes. I mean, I suppose that we knew that, but you never actually said it.”

Harry blinked at that. He was so certain that Ron and Hermione both knew how he felt about them, so this really came as a surprise to him. “Well, I mean it. You two are some of the most important people in my life.

Ron patted his shoulder. “I’m glad to hear that, dear **brother**.” Harry snorted. “I should probably write mum and tell her to put another hour hand on that clock in the kitchen. This time with your face on it. She will be ecstatic! She considers you her son already.” He narrowed his eyes and inspected Harry. “Hmm, but maybe you should think about dying your hair ginger so that you would fit better.”

Hermione giggled from across the table. Harry chuckled and grinned at his best friend, who grinned back with crooked smile. Ron then gestured from Harry to Hermione. “So, are we all right? All of us? Is this settled?”

“I think it is,” nodded Harry. When he looked at Hermione, she smiled at him timidly and nodded back. “Yes.”

“Good, so now we can finally talk about something that isn’t that depressing.” Ron sat a bit closer to Harry so that they could finally talk about the topic he was dying to hear more about. “What do you think it means that you saw Crouch in Snape’s office?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. When I asked Moody, he said That Crouch has always been obsessed with dark wizards.”

“So he thinks that Snape is bad? Or that he’s hiding something?”

“I don’t know.” Harry shrugged. “I mean, he could be. Even though Dumbledore trusts him, I still think that there is something. I mean, have you seen the way Snape and Karkaroff behave sometimes. All those glances? It’s like they share a secret or something. I don’t know.”

“Well, that’s just another reason to be cautious.” Hermione switched her look from Ron to Harry. “This Tournament is one big trouble, and this might have something to do with how your name got into the Goblet. We should be more careful than ever.”

“Or as Moody says: CONSTANT VIGILANCE!” Almost half the Great Hall turned when Ron roared Moody’s now infamous catchphrase. Harry burst into laughter while Hermione smacked Ron on head, turning over various dishes and goblets as she was trying to reach across the table from her seat.

“That’s not funny Ronald!”

“Yes it is. If nothing, at least it eased the tension.”

Harry smiled fondly at his friends. “Oh, I’m so glad I have you two.”

“Of course you are.” Ron finished last few gulps of his tea and stood up. “Well, we have free period now. Do you want to go flying, Harry?”

“Actually, I thought that I could write Sirius. He wanted to know about everything strange or unusual, and the encounter from the last night fits this condition perfectly. And then,” he looked at Hermione, “I thought that I would go to the library. To start the research.”

Hermione beamed at his words while Ron lost part of his enthusiasm from his features.

“You two can go with me, you know. I would surely appreciate some help.”

“I’m glad to hear that Harry.” Hermione shot him bright smile. “We have to find a way how you will survive in the Lake, and what’s better time to start than right now.”

“Ugh, yeah mate. Of course we will go with you. I’m sure that by the end of this day, we’ll have the solution already, and we could go flying after, right?”

……………………………………………………….

Of course, the research proved itself to be much more difficult than Harry imagined. No matter how hard the trio tried, they just couldn’t find anything useful. Even with help of Professor McGonagall and Madame Pince, they didn’t meet with success.

Draco was also trying to help. On almost every opportunity, they would discuss options on how Harry could protect himself from water creatures that lived in the lake. The blond boy was very knowledgeable about the topic, which surprised Harry to no end. When he asked about it, Draco just shrugged.

“I’m interested in more things than just potions. Although it is my favourite subject, of course.”

“I mean, I just never thought you could be good with anything that has to do with animals.”

“Why not?”

“Well, considering your experiences during Care of Magical Creatures….”

“I don’t have anything against the subject itself. I just don’t agree with Hagrid’s teaching techniques.”

“Hmm, almost anyone doesn’t,” piped Harry quietly from Draco’s side.

“And what about you?” Draco raised an eyebrow and looked at his boyfriend.

“I-“ Harry hesitated. “He’s my friend. He might not be the best teacher, but knows a lot about animals. And he’s trying his best.”

Draco entwined his fingers with Harry’s. “I have to admit that after that disastrous first lesson, it wasn’t so bad. Although, don’t tell me that you really like to take care of those monstrous Blast-Ended Skrewts.”

“Oh God, no!” Harry laid his head on Draco’s shoulder. “So, tell me more about the spells you mentioned I could use against those Mud-Muzzles.”

“Yes, so…. The first thing you have to do is….”

……………………………………………………………………

The time that was left until the Second task was running really fast. Or at least, that’s how it seemed like to Harry. He made some progress with Draco teaching him various spells, but the attempts on finding something that would help him breath under water were less successful.

He started to feel panic again, just like he did when the First task was getting near. It was lessen a little thanks to his friends’ willingness to help with the task, although Hermione kept her promise to lessen her lectures and tried to give him some space, and Ron was trying to distract him from time to time, so that Harry didn’t have to think that much about the task. It worked to some extent, and Harry was very glad that he had friends like Ron and Hermione.

Draco also knew how to keep his mind from things that troubled him. They tried to meet as often as possible, sometimes for lectures, sometimes just so they could spend time together. During their dates that weren’t about learning, Harry was usually occupied by one and one thing only: Draco’s lips on his own. Without him realizing, Harry became addicted to Draco and the gentle side the blond boy kept reserved for Harry’s eyes only. Harry was so, so thankful for all the things his boyfriend did to lessen the tension he felt as the second task was nearing.

On February 13, Draco slipped Harry a piece of parchment when they were passing by through the corridor on the second floor. It was a short note which stated:

_Harry, meet me tomorrow evening in our classroom. I have a surprise for you._

Harry grinned as when he read the note. He learnt to anticipate every date they had with fast-beating heart. He just couldn’t get enough of those moments.

The next day, it was his incredible luck that saved him from disaster. On his way to meet Draco, he stumbled upon couple of Ravenclaw students who were obviously on a date. When he overheard part of their conversation, his heart almost stopped.

It was Valentine’s day!

And Draco probably set their date for this exact reason. It was supposed to be special, different that their usual dates.

As quickly as possible, he turned on his heels and sprinted to Greenhouses. Even though he didn’t have a gift for Draco, he wouldn’t go to meet him with empty hands. And what worked the last time could work now too.

He entered the classroom about half an hour later. Draco was already there, sitting on his usual spot on the sofa. Harry calmed his breath and came to sit next to him.

“Hi.”

“Hi.” Draco greeted him before he placed soft kiss on Harry’s lips. Harry instinctively ran his empty hand through Draco’s soft hair.

“I’m glad that you came,” Said Draco when they parted.

“Me too.” Harry chuckled. “As if I would ever miss an opportunity to spend time with you.”

“You’re such a Gryffindork.”

“Yep. Soooo,” Harry tilted his head a little, “is there a particular reason you wanted to see me today?”

“Yes.” Draco turned to reach something from behind his back. It was a small packet wrapped in red ribbon. By the look of it, Harry realized that it was the special edition of Chocolate frogs that he saw adverts for in every issue of Daily Prophet and Weekly’s Witch.

“Happy Valentine’s day, Harry.”

Harry smiled, took the packet from Draco’s hands and put it on the table next to the sofa, while trying to hide the yellow tulip behind his back. He bit his lower lip and turned back to face Draco again. Green met gray, and before Draco could do but blink, Harry was kissing him passionately. Draco moaned and wrapped Harry in his arms. Harry smiled into the kiss. Although he loved Chocolate frogs, ‘Draco’ was his favourite taste.

“Thank you,” mumbled Harry. “I brought something for you too.” He really hoped that his plan was going to work, and that he wouldn’t mess up their first Valentine’s day.

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Harry grinned and finally showed the flower to Draco. His grin grew wider as Draco burst into laugh.

“Is this going to be our thing now? Will you keep giving me tulips for special occasions?”

“Well, you said that this flower means ‘I like your smile’. Which I do. So yes, I will keep giving you flowers. If you want me to, of course.”

“Yes, Harry, I want you to.” He took the tulip, conjured glass vase and put it in. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“How do you feel?”

“Well,” Harry leaned his head on Draco’s right shoulder and sighed. “It could be better.”

Draco sneaked one arm behind Harry’s back and rested his hand on the Gryffindor’s hip.

“Harry, listen… I know that during these meetings, we don’t talk about it, mostly we talk about the spells you could use and things like that, but I have to know: Have you already found a solution on how to breath underwater?”

Harry lifted his gaze and his stomach dropped down when at the worry he saw in Draco’s eyes. He didn’t want to lie to him, but the truth was, he still had no idea. It didn’t matter how hard were they looking and searching in the books, Harry nor his friends still couldn’t find anything.

“You don’t have to tell me everything about it, I know that if you’d have any troubles, you would tell me.  I just… I just need to know that you’ll be safe. That you at least have an idea of what to do.” Draco was almost whispering. He didn’t push. He just wanted to know that his boyfriend will be safe.

Harry’s heart felt like a stone weighting him down when he realized all the feelings that were hiding behind Draco’s words. He was sure that if he told Draco, the Slytherin boy would help him even more that he already had. But something was stopping him from confessing to Draco. ‘You’re a fool for not telling him, Harry. You would want to know if **he** was in danger. What’s so difficult about it? Just tell him!’ 

But Harry couldn’t.

“I,” Harry hesitated, “I might have found something. It’s not certain if it’s going to work, be we will look into it more.” He cringed as those words filled the air, he so not wanted to lie to Draco. He prayed to all gods and hoped they would send him solution sooner than later.

“Thank you, Harry.” Draco visibly relaxed. He sighed and hugged Harry closer. “That’s all I wanted to hear. Now come here and kiss me again. We shouldn’t be that depressed on our date, especially on Valentine’s day. I don’t want to spend it just by sitting next to you when we can do more interesting things.”

For the rest of the evening, Harry’s bad conscience about the lie he told Draco disappeared, as his boyfriend made sure that Harry wouldn’t think about the task even for a second.

 ..……………………………………………………………………..

It was five days before the Second task when Harry really started to panic. He still didn’t know how to survive underwater, and he contemplated to quit few times. He couldn’t focus during lectures. He didn’t pay attention to his friends. He just couldn’t. The task was on his mind, and it only got worse in time. It didn’t help that the rest of the school awaited the Second task with extreme anticipation. He could hear people talking in the halls, on the school grounds. They were all so impatient, and it got on Harry’s nerves.

The only thing that kept him sane was Ron, Hermione and Draco’s undying support.

Two days before the task, he received three letters. Two of them were delivered at breakfast. The first one was from Mr and Mrs Weasley, who wished him good luck. His heart fell as he read all those words of support. They put such faith in him, and he didn’t want to fail them.

The second one was short, just one line. It was from Sirius. He wanted to know when was the next Hogsmeade visit. This didn’t help either, because now, instead of worrying only about the Task, Harry had to also worry about his godfather. It seemed that he came back to Britain to be closer to Harry, and if the Ministry caught him, Harry would never forgive himself.

The third letter was delivered to Gryffindor boys’ dormitory. Harry was surprised when we saw the rolled parchment on his bed. As soon as he unrolled it, he recognized Draco’s handwriting. He immediately felt a tad lighter. According to the note, Draco wanted to meet in the morning right before the Task. Harry pressed the letter to his chest. They only met once this week, and Harry missed Draco more and more every day.

‘Well, if I die in the Lake, at least I’ll see Draco one more time.’

………………………………………………………………………

 

It was the night before the Second Task, and Harry was in the library with Ron and Hermione, still searching for some spell that would keep him alive underwater. That was, until Fred and George came in, with a message from Dumbledore. He wanted to see both his friends, so they were now saying goodbye to Harry, leaving him on his own.

“Harry, I’m so sorry. I can’t believe that we didn’t find anything here. I just- I don’t understand. There should be an answer somewhere here, I’m certain of it, I just-“

“Relax, Hermione. It’s not your fault.” He ran one of his hands soothingly over her back. She hugged him closer. “You know my luck. The solution will probably be in the last book that is here. But don’t worry, I’ll find it. I’ll be all right.”

She let go of him and gave him tiny smile. “I wish we could help you more.”

“You did, both of you.” Harry looked at Ron, who was standing behind Hermione. He nodded at him, and Ron understood immediately.

“Come on, Hermione, we should go. You don’t want to keep Headmaster waiting.”

“Right, yeah, it could be bad.” She straightened her robe and smiled at Harry once more. “Good luck, Harry.”

“Thanks, ‘Mione.”

She stepped back so that Ron could also say his goodbyes. “Mate. I’m sure it’ll be fine. Remember how you always find a way?”

Harry nodded.

“Yeah, it will be the same this time too.” The reassuring words helped. Not much, but Harry immediately felt a little better. Then, to his surprise, Ron enveloped him in strong embrace. “I don’t know how long is Dumbledore going to keep us in his office, but if we have time, we’ll come back. If not,” he let go of Harry and patted his shoulder, “we’ll see you tomorrow morning. I’ll keep you a spot during breakfast.”

Harry chuckled. “Thanks, Ron. I appreciate that.”

“Good luck.” They all waved him goodbye and left, leaving Harry alone in an empty library.

…………………………………………………………………

Draco knew that something was wrong the first moment he walked into the Great Hall this morning. He was sure he knew what to expect. Harry would be sitting at the Gryffindor table, looking nervous but determined. His friends would be surrounding him, but he could sneak few glances back at Draco. The blond boy lived for those moments. It sent shivers down his spine every time Harry’s emerald eyes looked into his own. It was particularly exciting when they were in public, and anyone could catch them.

But it wasn’t the case today. Draco frowned when he didn’t see Harry anywhere at the table. He searched the table bit more and realized that Granger and Weasley were missing too. ‘As I know Granger, she’s probably giving him some last time advices. Merlin, I just hope he’ll listen to her.’

The breakfast actually lost any kind of appeal for him. Without Harry’s presence at the other side of the room, Draco felt extremely uneasy, and only the thought about their future meeting could calm him down. Pansy and Blaise were the only ones who noticed his odd behaviour. They didn’t comment though, for which he was very grateful. They both knew about his feelings for the stupid Gryffindor, and realized that he must be nervous on Harry’s behalf. And staying quiet was the right option.

After few more uncomfortable minutes, Draco excused himself and left to their classroom to meet Harry. With every step, he felt more and more nervous. What would happen to Harry in the lake? Would all the spells Draco taught him actually help? He really needed for this Tournament to be over soon, so that he wouldn’t have to worry about Harry that much.

When he entered the classroom, Harry wasn’t there. Draco counted on it, but he still felt pang of worry in his gut. He sat at the sofa and waited. The Second Task was about to begin in an hour, and Draco wanted to wish Harry good luck before he would disappear in the Lake.

The thoughts running through his head weren’t pleasant. He kept thinking about the dangers Harry was about to face, and he hoped that his boyfriend would show up soon and assure him that he’ll be all right.

It never happened though. As minutes ran by, Draco was getting more and more nervous. When it was only 25 minutes before the Task was about to start, Draco was stumping around the classroom in panic. Harry didn’t show up, and Draco knew something had to be wrong. The Gryffindor would never miss their meeting. Something happened Draco needed to find him. Soon.

He left the classroom and thought to himself. Where could Harry be?

The best option would be to search for Weasley and Granger. Harry was probably still with them, lost in his thoughts. ‘He probably just forgot to watch time, that’s all. It’s nothing worse.’ Draco tried to calm himself down a little. Then he composed himself, and set in the direction of Gryffindor tower. It might be suspicious at first, since Slytherin students almost never went in that part of castle, but hell, it was worth it. Draco just wanted to see Harry and make sure that he was all right.

Halfway through the fifth floor, his journey was interrupted by obstacle. He saw Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown at the end of the corridor. They were both dressed in Gryffindor colours, with thick scarves that would protect them from cold wind on the school grounds. Before they could see him, Draco quickly hid himself in nearby alcove. Luckily for him, they were busy gossiping, as always, and neither girl saw him. Their voices were loud thanks to the echo of the corridor, and Draco was able to hear every word they were saying.

“I don’t know why you even care about that. We’re not that good friends with her, so why bother with worrying about her?”

“But, Lavender, something might have happened to her.”

Brown shook her head full of light brown locks. “As if she would care about us.”

“She would. She’s not that bad, you know?”

“If you think so.” Lavender waved her hand. “I just don‘t feel like I could ever be friend with someone so bossy. Anyway, I’m more interested in fact that, if what Seamus said was truth, Ron and Harry were missing too. Not just Hermione. I wonder where they could be the whole night.”

“I think that Ron and Hermione were helping Harry. I mean, it’s the Second task today!”

“You really think so?”

“Yes,” nodded Parvati. “What else would they be doing?”

“Well, if I was Hermione, I know what I would do.” Lavender flipped her hair over her shoulder and grinned at her friend

“Lavender, seriously?”

The rest of their conversation got lost as they rounded the corner. Draco stepped out of the alcove. His heart was beating rapidly, his breath felt heavy in his chest. Of course he knew that Harry wouldn’t participate in anything Lavender Brown had in mind. No, he was more worried about the fact that Harry, Granger and Weasley all seemed to be missing.

“Oh, Salazar. Where are you, Harry!?” he mumbled at half breath and closed his eyes. “Come on, Draco, think. Where could Harry be?”

“Master Draco, sir.” A quiet voice reached his ears.

“What?!” Draco abruptly opened his eyes and turned his head around, but couldn’t see anyone. He could swear he heard voice, but there really was no one in the corridor. Although, it was so quiet that it could have been just some kind of echo, or wind running through the walls. After all, this castle was hiding many secrets.

“Master Draco. Here.”

A small figure appeared in front of Draco. The creature was wearing the strangest mix of clothing Draco has ever seen. Its head was covered in various hats, and its socks didn’t match up. It was staring at Draco with huge, ball-like brown eyes.

“Do- Dobby?”

“Yes, master Draco, it is Dobby.”

“What are you doing here, Dobby?”

“Dobby serves in the castle, sir. He works in the kitchens.”

“Wow, I- Harry did mention, but-“ Draco was unsure what to say. He didn’t see the house elf two years, and this random meeting was quite unexpected. “What are you doing here, though? In this hallway?”

“Dobby heard master Draco talk about Harry, sir. Master Draco said his name. Did master Draco mean Harry Potter, sir?”

“Yes, well… I’m kind of searching for him.”

“Dobby came because Dobby knows where Harry Potter is, sir.”

Draco’s eyes widened. “You know where he is?” The house elf nodded, his bat-like ears flopping on each side of his head. Dreaco’s heart sped even more at Dobby’s answer.

“Dobby knows. Dobby can take master Draco to Harry Potter, sir.”

“Then take me there. We must hurry!”

“Master Draco knows what to do.”

Draco nodded and took Dobby’s left hand. The house elf then snapped his fingers. Suddenly, there was that feeling Draco remembered from when he was little and used to beg Dobby to Apparate with him throughout the whole Malfoy Manor. Warmth spread through his body, like he was melting. His mother once described to him what Appatition felt like to wizards, so he knew that the magic House elves disposed of was bit different. It didn’t feel like when wizards Apparated, but it wasn’t any more pleasant.

They appeared in the back part of the Library. And of course, there was Harry, sleeping with his head on an opened book. There was a pool of drool on one page, and more was coming from Harry’s open mouth. Draco knew that it was silly of him, but he found it quite endearing. He quickly shook his head to clean his thoughts. This really wasn’t time for those thoughts. He closed the distance between him and his boyfriend and shook Harry’s shoulder.

“Harry! Harry, wake up! The task starts in few minutes, you have to wake up! Harry, please!” Harry snored in an answer. Draco couldn’t believe how difficult it was to wake his boyfriend up.

“Master Draco should hurry up, sir,” piped Dobby from his side.

“You’re right,” nodded Draco. “Sorry, Harry, but desperate times call for desperate measures.” He drew his wand. “I’m really, really sorry about that.” And he cast the spell.

“Ouch! What the hell?! Wha- Draco?!”

“Sorry, but it was the only way to wake you up.”

“Huh? What was it?”

“Stinging hex.”

“Well, it makes sense, I guess.” Harry massaged his right arm where Draco’s hex hit him. “What are you doing here?”

“I was worried about you. You didn’t show up at breakfast, and then I waited for you in our classroom, but you didn’t come there either. So I knew that something wasn’t right.”

“It was breakfast already? Oh, I- and Ron or Hermione weren’t looking for me?”

“They weren’t there.”

“Whaaah’,” yawned Harry. “They weren’t at breakfast?”

“No. At first I thought that you were with them. And that you were preparing for the task or something, but then I overheard Patil and Brown. They said that you three were missing overnight. That you didn’t come back to the Gryffindor tower.”

“Well, we were here yesterday evening. But then they left, Dumbledore wanted to see them. I stayed here overnight.” He looked around at the books. “Draco, I- I don’t know how to survive this task.” The look he shot to Draco was full of shame and despair.

“What?” That surprised Draco. “But you said that you had an idea?! Harry, I-”

“Dobby knows.”

Both boys looked at the house elf, who was still standing by Draco’s side.

“Dobby? Hi. What are **you** doing here?”

“Dobby found master Draco wandering through hallways looking for Harry Potter, sir. Dobby brought master Draco with him.”

“Great. I’m glad to hear that Dobby. I-“

Draco cut into Harry’s question. “Harry, you two can talk later. This is more important.” He turned back to Dobby. “You said that you can help Harry? Do you know how he can survive underwater?”

“Yes. Dobby knows. Dobby has this.” And he took something from the pocket on his vest. It looked like a bundle of slimy worms at first, but then Draco recognized it. His eyes widened.

“Oh, yes. YES! Harry, this is the solution!”

“So you know what this is?” asked Harry as he took it from Dobby’s palm. “It looks damn disgusting.”

“It’s Gillyweed. You eat it, and grow gills for about an hour!”

“I do what?” The horrified expression on Harry’s face would usually make Draco laugh, but the time was running out.

“You have to eat it. I know, it looks terrible, but trust me, it really works.”

“All right. I mean, it really is my only option now, right?”

Draco nodded. “It is. Take this with you. Eat it right before you enter the lake. Ok?”

“Ok. How much time do I have?”

“Not much. The task should start in,” Draco looked at his watch, “fifteen minutes.”

“Fifteen minutes? Oh my God!”

“Yeah, you have to hurry.”

“I know, I just-“

“Harry.” Draco took Harry’s face into his arms and pressed their lips together. He felt as Harry sneaked his arms around him and rested his palms on Draco’s lower back. The blond boy deepened the kiss. He tried to pour as many emotions in it as possible. He licked Harry’s lower lip and the black haired boy moaned in pleasure. Draco then bit the same spot and could swear that heard Harry purr in response.

When they parted, they were both breathing heavily.

“Good luck, Harry.”

The other boy smiled at him. “So, this is your idea of ‘good luck’ kiss?”

“Yeah.”

“I like it.”

“Glad to hear that. Now you really have to go. But don’t think that you’re out of the hook. When we have more time, have to talk about you lying to me.”

“I know. I’m sorry about it, Draco. We’ll talk after the task.” Harry then turned to Dobby, who still stood awkwardly at the same spot. “Thank you, Dobby. You probably saved my life. Again.”

“Dobby is glad he could help Harry Potter, sir.”

“Harry, go!”

“I know, Draco. Come see me after. Please.” He pleaded with his emerald eyes. Draco smiled fondly at his boyfriend.

“Of course I will.”

“Thank you. See you later. Wish me luck!” Said Harry in hurry and Draco was only able to shout “Just come back in one piece, Harry!” before the black haired Gryffindor was gone. Draco then stood in the silence of the Library, wondering about what would happen during the next few hours. When he turned his eyes to the House elf again, Dobby was looking at him with wide eyes.

“Thank you, Dobby. Without you, I have no idea what that reckless idiot would do. You saved his life.”

“Dobby is happy to serve and help, master Draco.”

“Dobby,” Draco kneeled in front of his old friend, “I know that my family- that we are not your masters anymore, and you don’t have to follow my orders, but I’d like to ask you something. Please, keep taking care of Harry. Could you do it for me?”

The elf nodded enthusiastically. “Dobby will do it, sir. Dobby will take care of Harry Potter, master Draco.”

Draco’s heart danced at the loyalty and devotion of his former house elf. “Thank you, Dobby. You really are incredible house elf.”

Dobby beamed at his words. His smile fell after a while, and he croaked:”Dobby is glad that he could help. But Dobby has to go now, master Draco, sir. Dobby is needed in the kitchens. If master Draco needs something, he can always call Dobby, and Dobby will come and help again.”

“I probably will. It was nice to see you again after all that time, Dobby. Thank you once again, for all of this.” Draco smiled at the little creature. “Now go, I don’t want to keep you from your duties.”

Dobby bowed down, and disappeared with loud crack, leaving Draco alone in the Library. ‘Well, I suppose I should go to see how Harry is doing. I just really hope he’ll be all right.'


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone :)  
> Another chapter is here. This one is fully in Draco's POV, just so you know. I apologize in advance for any mistakes, though I hope there aren't many.  
> Anyway, enjoy :)
> 
> Reapload: I slightly edited this chapter, because I left a terrible, terrible plot hole there. It was pointed out to me that Pansy indeed knew that Draco asked Harry to be his parter for the Ball. It should be fixed now.

Draco arrived to the Lake only few minutes after Harry did, he was sure about it. Yet, he still missed the beginning of the Task. Even though he counted on it, he didn’t feel good about not being there for Harry. When he as nearing the Lake, Draco saw that there were seats at one bank of the Lake, many of them, so that they could accommodate the whole school body, with guests from other two schools too. It was very difficult to find free seat, and Draco was slightly worried about it. He really didn’t want to spend this task by standing next to the tribunes.

‘That’s what you get for having to take care about your reckless boyfriend. Sore feet.’

Draco sighed and started to search for at least one free space in between hundreds of his fellow students. It wasn’t a simple task. Many people were standing and cheering for their favourites, so to catch even a glimpse of a seat was almost impossible. Luckily for him, he soon spotted Pansy, waving at him from the right side of the tribunes. Blaise was standing next to her, and they were both seemingly relieved that Draco finally arrived. Draco waved back and went to join his friends.

“Draco, where were you? We were worried about you! Where did you go after breakfast?” Pansy glared to him. Draco just grinned. He knew that behind her cold exterior, she really was loyal to people who she called her friends.

“Sorry, Pans, I- I had something to do.”

She slapped his arm.

“Something to do my ass! I bet that you were in some dark corner, worrying shitless about Potter.”

“Pff. Why would I care about him?” He knew that this wouldn’t work on her, but he still had to try at least. "Where are others anyway?"

Pansy just rolled her eyes. He was right, it didn’t work.

“I have no idea where others are.  Vince and Greg were still eating when we left the Grat Hall, and Theo disappeared somewhere with Daphne and Millie. And Please, Draco. Who do you think you’re fooling about Potter?” She leaned closer to him and whispered, so that only Blaise and Draco would hear her. “We are your friends, don’t forget that. Ever since you told us about your feelings for him, we’ve been nothing but supportive of you. We know how much he means to you. And we know how scared you were for him during the First task! You must be scared even more now, since the task is held in the freaking Lake!” She caught his hand in her own. “You can be honest with us, I hope that you know that.”

“She’s right,” added Blaise from the other side of Draco. “Even though I don’t understand why you like him so much, I get that he’s really important to you. So, if ever need to talk about something involving your feelings about Potter, your worries about him or anything, just come to us.”

Draco smiled at his friends. He always heard how close Harry was with Granger and Weasley, and he was really glad that he himself had such amazing friends as were Pansy and Blaise.

“Thank you, really. I- You’re right, I was worried about him. He always gets into such dangerous situations.”

“Yeah, because he’s a reckless Gryffindor.”

Draco snorted and nodded at Pansy. She had no idea how much she was right about that.

“Well,” Blaise patted Draco’s shoulder, and spoke once again in his almost normal voice, “now that this is settled, can we concentrate on the task, please?”

“What is there to see?” asked Pansy while gesturing on the Lake surface. “They take the task in the Lake. And unless you two, or any other people here for that matter, know, how to see under the water surface, we won’t see a damn thing! This task is really stupid.”

“I think that Dumbledore and the other judges must have some way to know how the Champions are doing during the task, don’t you think, Pans?”

“Like how?” She turned to face the dark skinned boy. Blaise just shrugged back.

“Well, it seems that you’ve forgotten, but there are merepeople in the Lake,” said Draco in exasperation.

Pansy gasped. “That’s true! Do you think that they could give reports to the judges?”

“It’s possible. If some of them know Mermish.”

“I heard that Barty Crouch knows how to speak Mermish. Father told me, I guess.”

“Yes, bur Draco, he’s not here.” And Pansy pointed her finger in the direction where judges were seated. When Draco followed said direction with his gaze, he could see that she was right. There were four judges that he already knew, but the fifth person wasn’t Crouch. Instead-

“Is that a Weasley?”

Blaise nodded. “It is. Percy, the boring one.”

“The Head-Boy?”

“Yes.”

“What is he doing here?”

“Well, he must have been sent here instead of Crouch, right? I think he works for him at the Ministry.”

“I don’t know, Pansy. Do you think they would employ someone that- dry?”

Pansy and Draco both laughed at that. “Yes, Blaise. The Ministry would **definitely** employ someone like that.”

“Don’t forget, Draco, that you’ll probably work there, one day,” smirked Blaise in an answer.

“That’s what **my father** wants, not what **I** want, and you know it.”

“Aww, don’t be so sour, Dray.”

“All right, boys. Stop it! Something’s happening!”

And indeed, the judges were now running towards the Lake bank, closer to the tribunes. It really wasn’t that far, so Draco and other students clearly saw Fleur Delacour as she was crawling in the mud, breathing heavily. Her hands were scratched and blood was flowing from her wounds. She was wearing silver swimsuit, but it was also damaged and torn on many places. Her expression was full of shock and worry.

“Sweet Merlin, what happened to her?”

"Nothing good, obviously."

"Blaise!" Pansy shot him a nasty glare. "You could be more sympathetic. Look at Draco."

The blond boy on her side looked- it really was the only way to describe it- terrified. If something attacked Fleur, and hurt her so badly that she looked that wrecked, what could possibly happen to his Harry?

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Ludo Bagman's voice filled the air around the lake. "I have some news for you. As you noticed, Fleur Delacour left the lake few moments ago. Unfortunately, she was attacked by Grindylows and hurt so badly, that she is unable to continue with this task."

Various people, Fleur's fans as it seemed, groaned in disappointment. Draco saw desperate faces of many Beauxbattons students, who weren't exactly happy that they lost chance for their Champion to win this task.

"Grindylows? She was stopped by Grindylows?" Pansy sounded surprised and disbelieving. "I thought that Champions should be tougher than that."

"But look at her. She looks really hurt. There must have been a whole pack of those damn creatures. And just so you know, she is very skilful witch."

"You're saying that just because you like her, Blaise."

"Yes, well, have you seen her, Pansy?"

Pansy snorted. "She's not that good looking, in my opinion. And besides, she's out of this task. And she obviously didn't succeed. So she’s not **that** skilful."

"They are supposed to save something, right?"

"Yeah. Oh, Draco," Pansy grabbed his hand and shook him to get his attention, "you missed it! When the Champions were given instruction at the beginning of this Task, you weren't here!"

"I'm aware of it, Pansy."

"So you don't know what's going on!"

"Took you long enough to realize." Of course Draco knew what was going on in this Task, thanks to the fact that he helped Harry to solve the Golden egg, but he couldn't exactly tell this to his friends.

"Well, according to what Bagman said, the Champions are supposed to 'retrieve what they care about the most and was stolen from them', and they have 'an hour to succeed'.”

"Interesting.... So what do you think was stolen from her?"

"Probably her favourite comb."

"Pansy," Blaise shook his head in exasperation. "You don't have to be so mean."

"Don't forget that 'mean' is my second name, darling."

"Why am I even friends with you two, remind me, please?" sighed Draco from his seat.

"Our families are friends."

"And we've been friends even before we could walk..."

"So you're stuck with us."

Both Pansy and Blaise seemed smug and satisfied with themselves. Draco narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth, his usual expression of displeasure. However, his friends were **so** used to him doing this, that they just shrugged and wiggled their eyebrows in Draco's direction.

Defeated, Draco rolled his eyes and looked back to the unmoving surface that covered masses of water below. Where was Harry? And was he all right?

According to the big clock that was placed next to the judges' table, it took almost twenty five minutes for another Champion to arrive. Still, it was one minute after the limit of one hour.

"Look! There, is that a head?"

Shouts were heard in the crowd of students.

"Who is it? Is it Harry? No, his hair are too light. So it means.... Cedric? CEDRIC! **CEDRIC!** " The crowd erupted into an estate applause. Whistles filled the air, and someone started to sing Hogwarts' anthem, very out of tune.

"Umm, interesting," said Pansy from beside Draco. "Who would have thought that the pretty boy Diggory would be the first to complete the task."

"He's actually very skillfull. And clever."

"Blaise, I thought that you like Fleur!"

"Why couldn't I like both, Pans? We live in a free world, after all."

"He's not alone."

Both his friends turned to Draco with raised eyebrows. Pansy was the first one to speak. "Why Draco, don't tell me that you too have crush on Delacour and Diggory."

Draco rolled his eyes. "No, Pansy." He lowered his voice and leaned closer. "I can assure you that I am 100 % gay-"

"For Potter."

Draco sighed. "Thanks, Blaise, yes. For Potter, if you want to put it like that." He turned away from the grinning boy and looked back at Pansy. "What I meant is that Diggory is not alone in the water."

Pansy's eyes widened and she faced the lake again. "Oh... Yeah, you're right. There's something in there with him."

"I think it's someone." Blaise, because he was taller than both his friends, was looking over their heads. "Yeah, it definitely is a person."

Cedric was now nearing the lake shore, and everyone finally realized that there was another person with him.

"Wait, is that- is that Chang?" Pansy raised on of her eyebrows in disbelief.

"It seems like it."

"So, does it mean that they are saving **people** they care about the most?" Pansy turned to look at her friends. Blaise shrugged and nodded, but Draco didn't even register it. His head was full of thoughts as he was watching Cedric and Cho exit the water, and being taken care of by madame Pomfrey immediately.

The Champions were saving people they care about the most.

**People** that they care about the most.

**People...**

And Harry wasn't saving Draco.

Oh!

Oh, it hurt.

Of course, Draco knew that him and Harry weren't dating that long, but still... It felt like someone just stabbed Draco in his chest with rusted knife, and was turning and wiggling with it, just to make it hurt even more.

Who was Harry saving then, if not Draco?

Suddenly, he remembered the conversation he overheard this morning. How Brown and Patil were talking about Harry, Weasley and Granger missing.

Harry was probably saving one of his friends.

It made sense. Judging by what Harry told him about his childhood, it was full of neglect and abuse. And those two were the first people who showed Harry true friendship and love. Yes, it totally made sense. Harry would be saving one of them. Probably Weasley.

'But what if he's saving Granger? What if what Brown was just implying was true? What if-'

No!

No, he won't be jealous.

Harry told him that he wants Draco, and Draco only. And Draco should believe him. Harry deserved that.

"Draco.... Draco! Come back please. Eventhough I like your hair, I don't exactly want to talk to it."

"What?" Draco looked at his friends, who were both shaking their heads.

"Impossible... I was trying to tell you that another Champion just came back."

"Who?"

"Krum. And look who he apparently cares about the most." She was grimacing and her voice was full of bitterness. Blaise, on the other hand, was shaking with silent laughter at her attitude.

Draco turned back to face the Lake, and immediately burst in laugh. His heart felt light as never before when he saw Granger by Krum’s side.

So Harry wasn’t saving her. He didn’t have to worry.

“What are you laughing about? It’s not funny!”

But Draco just leaned back in his seat, sighing and grinning. Blaise glanced at him with raised eyebrows, but said nothing. Pansy, who was still angrily looking at the Lake, continued in her complaints.

“I don’t understand what he sees in her. I mean yeah, she’s clever and all, but besides that, what’ so special about her?”

“Aww, Pansy. Are you jealous?”

“Shut up, Blaise!”

“Why? It’s fun taunting you.”

"Blaise it right. Usually it's you who makes fun of us, so this is a nice change."

Pansy glared at Draco with lightnings in her eyes. "I make fun of you two because it's the way I show you I like you. You two, on the other hand," she pointed her neat finger at each of the boys, "are just mean."

Blaise sneaked his left arm over Draco's shoulder. "It's because we **are** mean, Pans. Is that right, Dray?"

"Definitely," nodded Draco and winked in Pansy's direction. “Besides, I thought you said that mean is your second name, Pans,” added Draco mockingly.

The Slytherin girl narrowed her eyes at them and growled. "You haven't answered my question, Draco. Why were you laughing?"

"It's not your business."

"Oh, it definitely is. Because you were either laughing because you were happy that Krum saved Granger, or you were just making fun of me, or you were laughing at nothing which would mean that you are going crazy. And it that's the case, I'm afraid that we have to end our friendship. I refuse to be friends with someone crazy."

"I don't think that he's going crazy, Pans. Or that he was just making fun of you. He's not like that, even though he likes to pretend he's heartless. No, I think that it was the first option."

"Hey, unthought that we were  making fun of her! You're supposed to be on my side!" Draco glared at the taller boy and shook Blaise's hand off of his shoulder. There was now wide smile on Pansy's face, which was never good. Draco felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Is it true, Draco? Were you happy about Krum saving Granger?"

Draco didn't answer, which just made Pansy smile wider.

"Dray, why would you be happy about it?"

"I wasn't happy about it."

"Yes, you here." Blaise leaned closer, and Draco was now trapped between his so called friends. He really didn't feel fondly about them right now.

Blaise continued with his thoughts. "I bet that you were happy because you're jealous."

"Jealous?" squeeked Pansy. "Were you jealous? Because you wanted to be on her place?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"No, Pansy. I think that it goes back to Potter. Again."

"Why would this have any connection to Potter?," spat Draco. Blaise smiled wickedly at him. "Because it always comes back to Potter.

"Oh, oh! I know how you mean it!" Pansy was jumping ecstatically on her seat. She looked silly, but obviously didn't care about it.

"Well I don't. Care to explain your thinking process to me?" And Draco crossed both arms in front of his body in anger.

"Well, do you remember when Pans first brought the gossip that Potter fancies Chang?"

"I do!" Pansy raised her hand. Draco rolled his eyes, but nodded nevertheless. "It's a bit foggy, but I remember. What does it have to do with all of this, though?"

"Oh, Draco. You say that it's foggy, but I remember you being grumpy more than you've ever been. You were **so** jealous, you rambled about how can Potter like her when there's nothing that special about her and so on. It took months for you to calm down."

"You're exaggerating."

"No, he's not. It was awful, Draco. I've never seen you in worse mood."

Draco looked desperately at his friends. "I still don't understand what it has in common with this situation."

"I think you were worried that Potter might be saving Granger." Blaise now had a triumphant expression on his face, accompanied with smug smile. Draco hated it.

"That's insane."

"Is it?"

"Yes!"

"Draco, don't be so bitchy." Pansy latter his shoulder. "Come on, we know that you like him, you don't have to pretend."

"I wasn't jealous!"

"Dray, it would only make sense if you were. Their trio is awfully close. And earlier, Diggory came back with Chang, so it was totally possible for Potter to be saving Granger. For what we know, he's probably straight. He's never shown any interest in boys, at least. So as I said, it makes sense."

Draco was at loss of words. Of course Pansy and Blaise were right. For few horrible minutes, Draco really was afraid that Harry would be saving Granger. Surely, they didn’t know that Harry indeed was not straight, and that Draco and Harry were actually dating, so they assumed the obvious. 

He sometimes wished his friends weren’t that sharp. But on the other hand, thanks to their wit, they understood him. They kept mocking and sassing each other, but in the end, they always stood together. So, Draco decided to go easy on them.

“Fine,” he rolled his eyes. “You are right. I was jealous for a moment.”

They both smiled at him, and Pansy patted his shoulder. “See? It wasn’t that difficult.”

“You really have it bad for him, don’t you?” Blaise shook his head. “Why don’t you just tell him?”

Draco glared at him. He couldn't tell Blaise and Pansy that he and Harry already were together. He had to play it cool.

"That's a **very** good idea, Blaise. Seriously, you've never had a better one." Sarcasm was practically dripping trom his tongue. "He hates me. How do you think he would take it, hmm?"

"He would probably think it's some kind of a joke. But at least, you would get it out of your system. He would reject you, yeah, but you could finally move on to someone else!"

"Blaise is right, you know? This pinning really isn't healthy. You asked him to go with you to the Yule Ball and he said no. I know that it will sound harsh, but you should move on!"

Draco sighed and closed his eyes. He really wanted to tell them the truth, but he and Harry had an agreement. To keep their relationship in secret.

Blaise's eyes widened at Pansy’s words.

"You asked him what?"

“I- I asked him to go to the Yule Ball with me."

"Wow. And how did he take it?" Asked Blaise calmly.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Did you see him being my date for the Ball?" When Blaise shook his head, Draco just snorted. "Then how would you say he took it? He thought it was a joke, just as you said earlier." Pansy took hold of his hand and squeezed assuringly.  

“Uhhm, hmm… I have to say I’m a bit disappointed that you two haven’t told me. We’re friends after all.”

“Sorry, Blaise. I- His rejection really hurt back then, so I only told Pansy.”

“Fine, ok. I get it. But tell me next time something like this happens, yes?

Draco nodded. “I will. But can we, please, move on to something different?”

 “We definitely can. But, before we change the subject, I think you’d like to know that Potter came back.” Blaise was now looking behind Draco’s shoulder when he said that. Draco turned his head immediately. Surely, Blaise was right. Draco’s heart sped up when he saw Harry’s wild black hair approximately twenty meters from the lake shore. There were two more people with him there. Weasley, which was to be expected, and a girl that Draco didn’t know. Judging by her silver hair, and the fact that that Fleur was the only contestant who didn’t reach their ‘stolen person’, Draco suspected that the girl was Fleur’s sister.

When the three of them reached the land, they were immediately confronted with judges and Frantic Fleur, who grabbed her sister and held her close to herself. It was obvious that the Beauxbattons’ Champion was relieved her sister was unharmed.

“Well, they’re all here. I’m curious how the judges are going to determine who was the best in this task.” Pansy was looking at the group of people below them with narrowed eyes. “Oh, and look! It’s the Merpeople!” She pointed her finger to the lake surface, where dozens of heads appeared. She wasn’t the only one who noticed, as was obvious by the shouts of other people that surrounded them.

“Did Dumbledore just waved at them?”

“It definitely seems like it, Blaise.” Draco tilted his head. “Do you think he knows them personally?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him.”

Dumbledore was now engaged in a discussion with one of the Merpeople. Other judges joined him, although they were merely listening to their conversation. After few minutes, Dumbledore smiled widely and turned to face other judges, while all of the Merpeople disappeared under the water again. The Headmaster then called to Bagman, who was currently trying to entertain the audience with one of the anecdotes from his time when he still played professional Quidditch.

“Ah, it seems that we have results.”

The whole student body went quiet.

“As you noticed, Headmaster Dumbledore was speaking with merchieftainess Murcus few minutes ago. She was able to give valuable information about the course of this task, and thanks to her insight, the judges are now able to determine which Campion won this task and will be awarded with the most points.”

“So, without further ado… Miss Fleur Delacour is awarded with twenty-five points and gets the fourth place.” There was polite applause and some cheers from Fleur’s fans, but the noise ended quickly.

“The third place belongs to Mr Viktor Krum, who gets forty points.” Whistles filled the air, and the noise was more prominent this time. “

Now, we have an interesting occurrence here.” Bagman cleared his throat. “We have two Champions left, Mr Diggory and Mr Potter. Mr Diggory, who came back first, and only one minute after the one hour limit gets forty-seven points and is currently leading the Tournament!” The noise that followed almost deafened Draco. He closed his eyes and prayed for Harry to get as many points as possible.

Bagman smiled. “Yes, I see that you are very happy about Mr Diggory’s performance during the tournament. But we have one more Champion. Mr Potter. As you already know, Mr Potter came back way after the time limit. Fortunately for him, merchieftainess Murcus told our judges what exactly happened on the bottom of the Lake, and how Mr Potter refused to leave until all of the hostages were safe. Therefore, the judges decided to appraise Mr Potter’s bravery and dedication, and award him with forty-five points. Which means that Mr Potter **and** Mr Diggory are now both in leading! ”

Draco smiled widely as the crowd around him erupted in cheers. Of course Harry had to show his inner Gryffindor and save everyone possible. It was admirable trait, but Draco was sure that it will drive him crazy many, many times during his and Harry’s relationship.

The blond boy sighed and leaned his head on the back of his seat. The Second task was over. It was such a relief, when he knew that there was just one task left. He just hoped that the Third task won’t be that nerve-racking.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I'm back (sort of)  
> I know that it was long time since I posted and I'm really sorry for that, but you know, life happens (and procrastination is also a bitch!)... Nevertheless, the new chapter is here! Hopefully, it's worth the wait.  
> I don't know how often I'll be able to post the following chapters, I really can't promise anything, but I'll try to post as often as possible.  
> I tried to catch as many mistakes as possible, but feel free to point out the ones that slipped through.
> 
> And as always, I hope you'll enjoy this. :)

In Draco’s humble opinion, the moments after the Second task sucked. Even though Harry seemed to be fine, Draco needed to know if he really was all right and unharmed from **whatever the Hell** happened in the Lake. Of course, he couldn’t just reach for him right after the Task, and in front of the whole school, no less. No, he had to wait for the right opportunity to meet his boyfriend. Which sucked.

Unfortunately, as students were leaving their seats, Harry disappeared in the crowd and Draco just couldn’t find him, no matter how hard he tried. Granger and Weasley were nowhere to be seen either, which led Draco to the conclusion that Harry was with them, but because Draco couldn’t find the notorious ginger hair of the Weasley family, it was practically pointless to be searching for Harry. Which, obviously, left Draco in the worst mood possible.

Pansy and Blaise left shortly after the Task finished, Pansy just shortly making sure that Draco wasn’t “ _freaking out about_ _Potter’s safety for fuck’s sake! Draco, I’m sure that he’s all right. Now put yourself together, darling.”_   Draco wasn't exactly sure where they went, although he heard Blaise mention that some Durmstrang boys might have planned an after-task celebration for Krum. If they went there, Draco was sure that both would want him to join, but he just really wasn’t interested. Instead, he stayed on his seat, watching (and cursing) slowly diverging crowd, in which he lost the sight of his boyfriend.

Since he was alone, Draco had plenty of time to think about what happened in the morning. Before he left the Library, Harry told Draco to visit him after the Task was over. Now, Draco only had to find a way how to do that. But what exactly Harry meant by saying ‘come see me after’? He definitely didn’t mean for Draco to greet him right after the Task in front of everyone, that would be just plain stupidity. The best option for them would be to meet in their classroom. Yes, Harry must have meant that. The problem was how exactly would they do it? Surely Harry’s friends wanted to spend some time with him, for the same reason that Draco wanted to be with Harry: to make sure that he was all right. So, should Draco just go to their meeting place and wait there? If so, how long would it take for Harry to come? And what if Harry meant for them to meet somewhere else, which would leave Draco waiting in the wrong place?

Draco groaned and let his head fall backwards onto the backrest of his seat. He closed his eyes and let his thoughts swirl for a while. He should try to calm down a little, clear his mind, and think about his options. He sighed. 'Seriously, Draco, think! You're better than this. You can come up with something.'

With his eyes still closed, Draco listened to the last voices of those few students that still were near the Lake. They weren't loud, given the distance between them and Draco, but it was distracting nevertheless. Draco felt himself getting angrier with every passing second. 'Can't they just leave already?’

He gave them five more minutes to leave. Surely, they will be gone by that time and he will finally be able to think clearly.

It didn't work.

Even after quite a long time - Draco was sure that it was more than five minutes - he could still hear distant voices. Annoyed and unable to focus, Draco growled, opened his eyes and turned to look in the direction of said voices to see what kept their owners from leaving, only to be met with a sight of several students who decided to stay on the lakeshore for what Draco could only describe as some sort of late winter picnic. It definitely didn't seem that they were leaving anytime soon.

"Are you kidding me?-" mumbled Draco under his breath. He rolled his eyes and got up. If they weren't going anywhere, it was up to him now. Not that he liked it but Hell, he was in a bad mood right now so it was better for him to leave before he could do something stupid.

As he was leaving, Draco noticed that some members of that damned group had something colourful pinned to their chest. It didn't take him long to realize what it was. After all, he was the one who created those badges. Because of the long distance, it was impossible for him to read what exactly was written on them, but given the colour palette, he was sure that they were currently set on _Potter stinks._ And Hell, how he hated himself for creating them. At first, it was just a stupid idea, a really bad and foolish way of how to deal with his ever growing feelings for Harry, the need to draw his attention close to himself in any possible way, no matter the circumstances. Then one day, while they were lounging on the sofa during one of their dates, Harry told him how lonely he felt after the Goblet spat his name, how he didn't have almost anyone to talk to when the whole school turned against him. And how, although he tried really hard not to let them, even those badges were able to get under his skin. Draco remembered it clearly as day. _"It's stupid," he said while pressed to Draco's side, head resting on the blonds' shoulder. "I didn't feel like the Champion, and I knew that Cedric was the one who deserved to be chosen, but I... It still hurt to see that so many people were against me. One might think that I should be used to it, especially after the second year when everyone thought that I was the Slytherin's heir. But to be honest, every time I met someone who was wearing one of those badges, it stung. It was bad, knowing that people were so willing to throw me over board..."_

Draco's heart clenched every time that memory came back to his mind. The pain in Harry's voice was almost unbearable, even thought the dark haired boy tried very hard to not show it. He remembered the way Harry held tight onto his hand and the sad smile on Harry's face after the confession. He remembered how he apologized so many times after that, how he even showed Harry that one special badge that he made for himself, the one that had _Support Harry Potter_ in bold writing. Harry's smile was a little less sad after that, but to Draco, it wasn't enough. If he could, he would turn back time, and erase every instance when he did something to hurt Harry. He knew about Time turners, his father told him about them and about other secrets he shouldn’t actually know. But he also knew about the damage those tiny objects could cause. And right now, there was no other option of how to undo past.

But, Draco thought as he was nearing the castle, even though he couldn't change anything he did, he could be Harry's support now. He will be there for his boyfriend every time Harry needs him. He will do anything to show Harry how much he means to him, that what he did in the past wasn't the right image of him. Now if he only could actually be with Harry!

_‘Think, Draco! There must be a way to just- contact Harry or something! A simple, really obvious way how-‘_

Draco’s steps faltered as the realization struck him. Of course! Dobby!

“You’re an idiot, Draco, you're such an idiot,” he muttered under his breath, and began running towards the school building. If he was lucky, his dormitory would be free of any spying eyes, and he would be able to go through with his plan.

It seemed that someone out there was on Draco's side, because the journey to the Slytherin's dorms went as smoothly as possible. He met some people in the hallways, mostly Hufflepuffs, but to Draco's immense relief, they didn't pay him any attention. It didn't take long and he arrived to the entrance to the Slytherin's common room. He breathed out the password - _Serpent's venom_ \- and entered.

The common room was almost empty except for some sixth year students near the fireplace who were playing Wizard chess, and a group of what seemed like second or third year students lounging on the sofas on the opposite side of the room. Draco quickly passed the room and directed his steps towards the dormitory he shared with his friends.

It really was empty, and Draco breathed out in relief. He moved swiftly across the room to his own bed and grabbed the notepad that he kept on the bed table on its left side. He scribbled a short note that read:

_Harry,_

_I hope that you’re alright. Thank God the Task is over! You were too long in the Lake, I was worried about you, you Gryffindor dork! But that's just one reason why I'm writing. Before, in the Library, you told me to meet you after it's finished. I'd like to do exactly that, so please, tell me when and where. I suppose it's going to be our usual place, but I just want to be sure._

_Always yours, D._

-and ripped out the page.

'Now please, please have time to help,' he thought to himself, crossed his fingers and called urgently: "Dobby!"

Nothing

He waited few heartbeats, getting more and more nervous with every passing second. Still, nothing was happening. His heart fell a little. It seemed that he will need to find another way.

He turned to face his bed once again, and just when he began contemplating whether he should send Harry the letter by of the school owls (his own might be too suspicious), a loud crack filled the room.

"Salazar!"

"Master Draco called Dobby, sir?"

The house elf was standing right in the middle of the room, his big eyes filled with anticipation. He was looking expectantly at Draco, whose heart was still racing from the shock.

"Oh God...." Draco shook his head. "Yes, yes, I called. But Merlin, you scared me."

Dobby looked apologetically at his feet. "Dobby is sorry, master Draco, sir. Dobby didn't mean to scare, master Draco."

"I know, Dobby." He crouched in front of the elf, who was hasn't raised his eyes yet. "And you don't have to call me master, Dobby." He smiled when the elf finally looked at him.

"Dobby knows, but it's a habit."

Draco's smile widened. "Well, you don't have to anyway. But I wanted to ask you if you have time to do something for me. I know that earlier today, you were needed in the kitchens, so of course, you don't have to do anything if you have other obligations-"

"Dobby is still needed in the kitchens, but whatever master Draco needs, Dobby will do, sir."

"Are you sure, Dobby?"

"Yes, master Draco, sir. Dobby will do as master Draco asks Dobby to do. Dobby is a good house elf."

"You are the best house elf."

Dobby beamed at Draco’s words and bowed his head in a thank you gesture. “Master has always been kind to Dobby, Dobby is happy to serve, sir.”

“Thank you, Dobby. It means so much to me, you have no idea.” Draco then lifted the ripped out page and showed it to the small creature. “I need you to deliver this letter to Harry. I don’t know where he is right now, so I can’t give it to him myself. I suppose that he’s somewhere with his friends, in the Gryffindor’s Common room perhaps, but I can’t be sure. Also, I need this letter to be delivered discreetly, so that no one else but Harry sees, ok? Could you do this for me, hmm?”

Dobby straightened himself and nodded in answer. “Of course, master Draco, Dobby will do as master Draco asks.” And he waited patiently as Draco stood up to charm the letter so that no one but Harry could open it. When it was done, the blond boy turned back to the house elf and smiled.

“Here, the letter. Thank you, Dobby. I really don’t know what I would do without you.”

The creature bowed as low as possible, and disappeared with a loud bang.

‘Well, that’s it. Now there’s nothing else left but wait.’

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

It hasn't even been thirty minutes, and Dobby came back with Harry’s response. If Draco were honest, this surprised him quite a bit. He was almost sure that he would have to wait much longer, since he thought that Harry was busy with his friends. But of course, he wasn't complaining. If something, the fact that Harry responded so quickly filled his chest with warm feeling of happiness. It meant that Harry was thinking about him, that he knew Draco was worried about him. That he cared.

Dobby excused himself immediately after he handed the piece of paper with Harry's response to Draco, leaving the Slytherin boy alone in the bedroom once again. The blond boy plunged into his bed and impatiently opened the note.

_Draco,_

_Thank you for the letter! Yes, I'm fine, don't worry. I can imagine that you're still freaking out, but I can assure you that I'm OK. And even thought I said the exact same thing to Pomfrey, she insisted that I stay in the Infirmary over night. So unfortunately, I won't be able to come to our classroom as I interned to meet (you guessed it right, as always ;) ). However, I told Dobby about my Invisibility cloak, and he promised to give it to you sometime in the afternoon (he said he was too busy right now) so you can use it to visit me in the Hospital wing later today._

_I hope to see you soon._

_And stop freaking out :)_

_Yours, H_

 

Draco let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. He placed the letter on his chest, letting one hand rest over it.

He was so relieved by Harry's words. Harry said that he's fine. I'd didn't mean that he was completely injury free, he **was** in the Infirmary after all, but he obviously wasn't hurt as badly as Draco worried he might be. Draco looked at the letter once more. He kept on snorting again and again as he was rereading some of Harry's snarky comments. When he could be this sarcastic, it seemed that Draco's idiotic, reckless boyfriend was really OK.

What Draco also found interesting was that Harry said he will lend Draco his Invisibility cloak, so that Draco can come see him. In all honesty, Draco was more than excited to wear such an incredible piece of magical clothing for the first time. Invisibility cloaks weren't uncommon in the wizarding world, but they weren't seen very often by public eye. What Draco knew from his father, they were used by Aurors more than by anyone else. That's why he was quite surprised when Harry showed him his own one in the Prefects’ bathroom. Of course, Harry Potter just _has to_ have his own Invisibility cloak!

And Draco will have the honour to wear it! Afternoon couldn't come soon enough.

Which, unfortunately for Draco, it really didn't.

The rest of the morning wasn't long, but it was the most unbearable period of time Draco had the ‘pleasure’ to live through. He was bored and anxious at the same time- he wanted to visit Harry but he couldn’t, and it was making him even more restless. He decided to write some homework to ease his nerves a little bit, but it didn't exactly help, so when lunch time finally came close, it felt to him like a grace from heaven. At least he could think about something else than Harry for couple of minutes.

When he stepped in the Great Hall, he found it only half-full. Draco immediately noticed that Pansy and Blaise were nowhere to be seen. Neither was Theo, Millicent or Daphne. It seemed that Vince and Greg were the only ones from his group of friends presented. As he was walking towards his usual seat, Draco took notice of Harry’s friends sitting at the Gryffindor table. He may be surprised a little bit by it. If he was honest with himself, he thought that they stayed with Harry and kept him company.

Draco sighed. So much for not thinking about Harry. 

Just when he was halfway through his soup, he noticed Granger and Weasley leaving the Great Hall with small packages in their hands. Surely they were taking some food to Harry. It wasn't necessary, Draco knew very well that the patients got to eat as much as they wanted (if it didn't interfere with their healing process), and Harry probably was done with his lunch already. Yet, as Draco stood up, he grabbed his favourite kind of apple out of the bowl on the table, to bring it to Harry himself. If nothing more, it was at least a nice gesture.

When he arrived back to his bedchamber, nothing seemed different at the first sight. However, a quick glance at his bed told him that - _yes! finally!_ \- Dobby had time to bring him Harry’s Invisibility cloak. It was neatly tucked into a small package, just lying there all innocent and everything.

Draco's heart sped up. He swiftly crossed the room and sat on the bed. With his hand shaking, he gently touched the fabric. It was a strange feeling. The cloak seemed to be colder than the air in the room, the material it was made of could be compared to cobwebs, it felt so soft between his fingers. A shiver ran down Draco's spine. Although he saw this particular cloak before, he still couldn't help himself but be amazed by it.

He smiled to himself. Then he stood up and hurriedly grabbed few of his textbooks, few rolls of parchment, and hid all of it at the bottom of his closet. Then he took his special ‘study’ quill, and pocketed it in his trousers. It was his favourite, made out of the feather that one of Malfoy Manor’s family peacocks lost the day Draco turned 10. Everyone knew that he used that particular quill while studying, so it wouldn't be suspicious to anyone of his friends if they came into the room and didn't see it on his bed-table. They would just give that he went somewhere to study.

Then he finally covered himself in Harry's cloak. His vision was slightly blurred because of the fabric, but it didn't disturb him much. He quickly grabbed the apple he originally wanted to bring to Harry. It was lying on his bed, completely forgotten in favour of the cloak.

Draco chuckled. He usually wasn't this inattentive. ‘Put yourself together, Draco.’

And with this last thought, he was out of the door.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

On his way to the Hospital wing, Draco wondered if he would see Granger and Weasley there. He was almost certain that they planned to spend as much time with Harry as possible, and this thought came to be correct, because as he was nearing the (surprisingly opened) door that lead to the Infirmary, he could hear Granger's high voice coming through.

He stepped in, careful to make as little noise as possible. Through the thin fabric of the cloak, he could see Harry sitting on the bed closest to Madame Pomfrey’s office. Harry was obviously facing both oh his friends, who placed their chairs at that side of Harry's bed that was further from Draco.

The blond boy took few steps closer to where his boyfriend was now listening to whatever Weasley was saying. He could see that one of Harry's arms was bandaged, and when he came even nearer, he noticed that Harry's face was covered with cuts and bruises shaped like an octopus’s suckers. Despite those wounds, Harry has a wide smile plastered across his face, and he obviously wasn't in any kind of pain. His laughter suddenly echoed through the room and Draco's heart skipped a beat. He may not be the biggest fan of Harry's friends, but the fact that they were here with Harry, keeping him company and making him **laugh** made Draco fucking grateful that Harry had such loyal friends. He damn sure deserved it.

As cautiously as possible, Draco stood next to Harry's bed, and lightly placed one hand on Harry's shoulder. Although he tried to be careful, this action obviously startled the other boy judging by the jerk of the boy’s body. Draco leaned closer to his boyfriend, and whispered “Don't worry, it's me,” into Harry's ear. Harry visibly calmed down and hummed in answer. Although he surely tried to be inconspicuous, Granger and her keen eyes didn't let that slip through.

“Harry, are you in pain?”

Weasley, so far oblivious to anything that was happening around him, stopped with his story and looked worriedly at Harry.

“What? No, of course I'm not.” Harry's answer didn't convince anyone, definitely not Granger, who just lifted one of her eyebrows.

“If you're not in pain, why did you just groan like that? Besides, I saw you wince just few moments before. Are you sure that you're OK?”

“Yes, I-”

“Mate, if you need, I can go and ask madam Pomfrey for Pain-relieving potion.”

“Thanks Ron, but I really am fine. It was nothing, I swear,” replied Harry, this time trying harder to cover up the real reason for his earlier behaviour. Draco gently squeezed his shoulder in silent support. A wave of gratitude towards Harry's friends ran through him once again. Who knows, maybe one day, they could all actually get along. Then, when they returned to their previous conversation, he hid the apple he brought under Harry’s pillow, and murmured an explanation to Harry’s ear. Harry’s light, almost imperceptible smile was enough of an answer.

Draco stayed in the Infirmary for longer part of the afternoon, listening to Harry, Ron and Hermione’s talking - yes, he didn't know how it happened but it only took Draco **one afternoon** to start calling them by their first names. Although Harry sometimes jokingly said that Draco had some similarities with Hermione, it still surprised said boy to see it for himself. He was even more taken aback by how much Harry's friendship with those two teenagers resembled Draco's own relationship with Blaise and Pansy. It made him think that, despite what he was taught his whole childhood, neither of them was much different from the other ones. All his life, his father taught him that Slytherins were superior to the students from other houses, that blood purity is what  matters the most, etc. etc., but even though Draco’s already realized that it was nonsense, it still felt strange to him to witness it like this.

Draco silently excused himself when it was time for dinner, and saw Harry's light nod as an answer. He left before the Gryffindors could, knowing that he will be back in the evening.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Pansy and Blaise finally managed to find their way back to the castle; they made it just in time for dinner. Judging by their happy faces, the celebration held by the Durmstrang students was exciting, and Draco was actually really glad that his friends had a good time during the afternoon. They were of course curious about what he himself was doing throughout the day. The question seemed genuine enough, and Draco, for once, felt really remorseful for the fact that he has to lie to them. Before he managed to answer though, Greg informed the other two teens about Draco's study quill missing from their shared bedroom, so obviously he must had been studying. It seemed that this was enough to fulfil their curiosity, and they swiftly moved to another topic.

Draco felt quite smug that his plan with the quill worked so well. He decided to use it more often in the future.

After the dinner, Draco went back to the Slytherin common room with the rest of his friends, although he obviously didn't intend to stay there. He just didn't want to draw too much attention to himself. Once again, it seemed that he had some sort of guardian watching over him, because no-one thought it suspicious when he proclaimed that he didn't feel well and wanted to go to bed. Although, Blaise shot him one short suspicious glare, but was a good enough friend and didn't push. The rest of his friends quickly said goodnight to him, and the blond boy then left the common room without any complications.

In the dorm room, Draco hurriedly cast a spell on his bed so that his bed curtains closed themselves. He then cast another one to lock the previous spell in place, and when he was sure that no-one would be able to get through, he took Harry's invisibility cloak from his pocket and covered himself in the magical fabric. Soon after, he inconspicuously passed his friends (currently debating about summer’s Quidditch championship) and was on his way back to the Hospital wing.

This time, the door to the Infirmary was closed when Draco arrived. Breathing calmly, Draco leaned close to the wooden surface and listened. He could hear silent murmur from inside of the room, but he wasn't able to distinguish any words. He cursed inwardly. It would be suspicious if he went in now. Door that would open and close without any visible force to do so might be suspicious, even in the wizarding world. He really didn't want to risk it.

Draco sighed. It seemed that he has to wait for the right opportunity. And, Salazar, Draco had enough waiting for one day. He just wanted to see his boyfriend in peace, was it too much to ask for?

Just when he started contemplating his other opportunities, the handle on the door moved. Soon after, the door followed and Draco saw Madam Pomfrey (Merlin bless her) opening the door. Perfect! She was leaving the Infirmary, and it was exactly what Draco needed. With as little noise as possible, the blond boy swiftly sneaked under her arm just before she closed the door again.

He was in.

Looking around, he could see only two people in the room. One, obviously, was Harry. He was still sitting on his bed, only now he was having a tray of half eaten dinner on his lap, which wasn't there earlier. The other person, standing in front of Harry's bed, was Dumbledore. It was he whom Draco hear speaking before, he realized.

Just like in the afternoon, Draco came closer to where his boyfriend was. When Draco was nearer, he could see that Harry's expression was much, much different from what he looked like before during afternoon. Gone was the grin that made his eyes shine. His eyebrows were drawn together, his shoulders tense. He didn't seem sad per se, the way Draco would describe it was-

“-troubled.”

The word was spoken by the Headmaster, and Draco couldn't agree more. Harry raised his eyes to look at the older man. It was obvious to Draco that he had something on his mind that he needed to share. He could see Harry gulp and grip his blanket a little tighter.

Dumbledore encouragingly smiled at Harry. “You don't have to tell me, of course. However, when something is troubling us, we shouldn't keep it for ourselves. If it's something personal, I recommend you tell some of your friends. Mr. Weasley or Ms. Granger seems like the perfect option.”

Harry sighed. “Well, it is personal, but it's also about the task. Ehm… I was thinking… Fleur saved her sister, or at least she was supposed to save her. Cedric saved Cho, Krum saved Hermione. And I… we were supposed to save the ones who love, right?” Draco could feel the tension radiating from Harry. The dark haired boy looked back at Headmaster for some sort of confirmation. The old man remained silent, although he nodded slightly. This made Harry sigh once again. “And I mean, Fleur obviously loves her sister, and everyone knows that Cedric is dating Cho. Krum and Hermione, this might be a little surprising for someone, but they seem to like each other, and I'm happy for them. But I couldn't help to think that I… in the Lake, that it was Ron who was there and- uhm…”

“That after you realized the champions were saving the ones they love, it made you think about your own feelings to Mr. Weasley?”

Draco shuddered a little at that. He could feel his cheeks burn. For a split second, he thought about the implication of what the Headmaster just said. However, the look confusion and slight terror on Harry's face was enough to calm him down. He was just being stupid.

“No! No, it's nothing like that. I mean, I love Ron, yes. He's my best friend. More than that, he's my brother. So it's nothing romantic. But,” Harry hesitated, as if the words he was about to say were hurting him, “after I found out what was the purpose of the Task, as in to ‘save our loved ones’, I was a little surprised. That it was him in the Lake and not… but maybe I'm just thinking too much about it, aren't I? I don't even know how you or other judges chose the ones who were in the lake.”

“Harry,” sighed Dumbledore and moved to stand beside Harry’s bed instead. Draco stepped closer so that he could hear better, which left him now facing the older man.

“Harry, perhaps you are still too young to understand, but I'd like you to listen closely and remember what I'm about to say. Human emotions are complicated; you can trust me on this. Very often we find ourselves loving more than one person at the same time. It's not as unusual as one might think. We can question if what we feel is right or wrong, if we should feel the way we do. However, the problem isn't in love itself. Love isn't universal, Harry. There isn't just one kind of love. We can love many people in many different ways. You yourself said that you see Mr. Weasley as a brother. For someone like you, who lost your closest family before you even knew them, I can imagine that such feeling overpowers all other feeling. It doesn't mean that you can't love someone else.” The old man's eyes shine from behind his glasses as he was looking at Harry. “My dear boy. Don't doubt yourself. If there is someone in your life that you feel should have been in the Lake but wasn’t, don't think that you don't care enough about that person. You just value your family more than anything and if that someone cares about you, I’m sure that they will understand.”

Draco's chest hurt. Dumbledore's words struck him like a lightning. It never came to his mind that Harry would torture himself like this. Seeing him sitting on the bed, desperate for assurance that he did care enough… Draco felt like he couldn't breathe properly. He just wanted to hug Harry and never let go. He wanted to tell him that he wasn't mad about who was in that damned lake, that he knew how Harry feels about him. And yes, it stung when Draco saw Harry saving Weasley from the Lake, but just like the Headmaster said, he was Harry's family. And Draco understood. It would be selfish and just so stupid to blame him for something like this.

A sudden movement caught his attention. He didn't realize that while he was deep in his thoughts, Dumbledore walked around the bed and was now back where he was standing originally.

“And Harry, as for the way we chose those you were saving, well… It was the jury who picked them, but it wasn't with help any kind of spell that would reveal the Champions’ deepest feelings to us. We observed our champions, the way you behave towards certain people, what kind of relationship you have with them, your history with them. So if we overlooked someone in your life that is important to you, it might as well be our mistake, and not the lack of feelings on your side.”

Harry smiled at the Headmaster’s words. “Well, I wasn't exactly public with that person, so if you really didn't use any spell, no-one could know, right?”

Dumbledore nodded. “Exactly.”

“Thank you, Headmaster.”

“Oh, don't worry about it, my boy. Good night, Harry.” And with those last words, Dumbledore was gone, leaving Harry (and Draco) alone.

Just to be sure they were safe, Draco waited few moments before he took of the Invisibility cloak. He snorted when he heard Harry squeak in surprise. “Wow, you sound like a mouse that's been stepped on by troll.”

“Draco,” breathed out Harry.

The blond boy smiled and leaned closer. Before Harry could react, Draco took the tray still lying on Harry's lap and placed it on the small table next to Harry's bed. He then grabbed his boyfriend's chin and pressed his lips firmly to Harry's parted ones. Draco felt Harry instinctively open his mouth a little wider, welcoming his in his heat. He moaned in response and stroke Harry's cheek. Draco could feel Harry's uninjured hand sneak over his shoulder and rest on the back of his neck.

When their lips parted, they were both panting heavily.

“Did you forget how to breathe, Potter?”

“Ha, you're the one to talk, Malfoy.”

Draco smiled and rested his forehead against Harry's. “I've wanted to do this all day. I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Draco. Thank you for the apple by the way!” Harry moved a little so that he could rub his cheek against Draco's.

“You’re welcome.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Few minutes. I'm sorry but I heard a little bit of your conversation with Dumbledore.” He didn't want to lie to Harry, nor did he want to pretend that he didn't hear anything. “I hope that it's OK.”

“Yeah,” Harry breathed out. “He came to see if I was alright. And then we- ugh, we talked about the task. As you know.” He moved away so that he could look at Draco. He was biting nervously on his lower lip as if he expected Draco to say something nasty. That only made Draco roll his eyes.

“Yes, I know.”

When Harry remained silent, Draco exhaled exasperatedly. “Do you want to tell me something?”

“Ughhh… do **you** want to tell me something?”

“I do, actually.”

“Oh! Uhm, OK,” nodded Harry.

“I want to tell you that you're an idiot.”

“What?”

“You are a Gryffindor idiot, Harry.” Draco used Harry's first name because he didn't want to sound too mean, and Harry seemed to understand. “What did you think that I would do? Even after I realized what was the task about… Did you really think that I will be mad at you or something?”

“Maybe. I don't know.” Harry was now blushing with a deep shade of pink. Draco caressed his cheek and sighed again.

“I'm not mad at you, Harry. How could I be?”

“I didn't want you to think that I don't care about you.”

“Harry… I know that you have a kind heart and that you care about people.  To be honest, I think that sometimes you care too much. Not just about me but in general. But Harry, I don't mind that it was Ro- ugh, Weasley- you were saving. I know how much he means to you. If that's what’s bothering you the most, it doesn’t have to.”

“It did bother me, yes. But if you say that it’s ok, I’m fine with that.”

 “Great. Now, may I sit here?” Draco pointed at the spot on the bed next to Harry's legs.

“Of course, yeah,” agreed Harry enthusiastically, and moved little father so that Draco had more space. “By the way, I want to ask you something.”

“And what is it?”

“I just can’t get it off my mind. Did you really almost call Ron by his name earlier, or did I mishear something?” His expression was playful now, and Draco couldn't help but melt at the sight. “Well what do you expect? I spent the whole afternoon here, listening to his and Hermione's names over and over again. I suppose that they got stuck in my head.”

“Hermione's?” Harry was now gawking at Draco. “Will you continue with calling them like that?”

“Definitely not in public! I have a reputation to keep, and people would thing that I've gone insane if I suddenly started to use their names. But if you want to,” he caught Harry's hand in his own, ”when I am with you, I can call them like that. After all, they are your friends. And I actually don't mind that much.”

Harry beamed at his words. “I'd very much like that. Thank you, Draco.”

“No problem, really. But if sometimes we talk about my friend, you'll call them by their fists names too, I hope that that's obvious.”

“Sure, of course.”

“Thank you, Harry.”

“Come on, it's the least I can do.”

Draco entwined their fingers and looked back at his boyfriend. When his eyes caught sight of Harry's bandaged hand, he shuddered a little. “You said that you were unharmed.”

“But I am.”

“What about those?” And he pointed at Harry's bruised cheek.

“What? Oh, those are nothing. It’s just some scratches.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, Draco, don't worry.”

“It hurts seeing you like this.”

Harry smiled meekly. “Oh, Draco…”

“Especially because you could have been prepared much better if you told me you need more help with the Task.” Draco couldn't help but smile at the look of ‘are you kidding me?’ Harry shot to him. “You didn't think that I've forgotten did you? You knew that we need to talk about it.”

“I know… I just- I'm not exactly sure what to tell you.”

“You could start with _‘I'm sorry Draco, I promise that the next time something like this is bothering me, I will ask for your help, I swear on Merlin's beard’_.”

Harry chuckled. “I don't talk like this.” When Draco only raised an eyebrow, Harry added:”but I promise that the next time I will tell you. And I'm sorry for making you worry about me.”

Draco lifted their entwined hand to his mouth and lightly kissed Harry's. “I hope you'll remember what you just said. I really don't want you to get hurt more than necessary. And I want to help you as much as I can.”

“I know.” Harry moved closer to Draco and rested his head on Draco's right shoulder. “And I don't want you to be worried about me. I promise I'll be better.”

“I believe you, Harry.”

They stayed like that for who knows long. It felt good just to lean against each other and enjoy each other’s company. It got significantly darker behind windows when Draco heard footsteps from behind the door. Someone was coming. Draco murmured an apology to Harry's ears and quickly jumped off the bed.

He covered himself in the Invisibility cloak right before the door opened and both boys could see Madam Pomfrey enter. She was carrying a tiny fabric bag. She locked the door behind her and then turned back to face Harry, who was the only (visible) person in the room.

“Mr. Potter, it glad that that you're still awake. I have an ointment for your injuries which works best during night.” She came to stand next to his bed (and without knowing it, she stood right beside Draco, who cautiously moved as farther from her as possible so that he wouldn't accidentally touch her and alarm her). She then pulled tiny orange container from the bag and unscrewed it. The air was suddenly filled with smell of burn. Draco almost choked on laughter when he saw Harry's disgusted face.

“Do I really need it?”

“Yes, Mr. Potter.” She then proceeded on covering Harry's injured cheek with the concoction, not being bothered by Harry's protests. “Now, I have to cover it with special band aids, as it should heal over night. Here…. All done. How does it feel?”

“It tickles a little bit.”

“Prefect, that's exactly what it's supposed to do.”

Harry tried to resist the need to scratch his cheek and Draco noticed that he was looking in the direction of the closed door. “Ehm, Madam Pomfrey?”

“Yes?”

“I was wondering, uhm… is it really necessary for me to stay here the whole night?”

“We’ve already talked about it. It is necessary, Mr. Potter. Especially considering what happened in the Lake.”

“But why am I the only one here? I wasn't the only one in the lake, there were seven other people if I recall correctly. What about Fleur, for example? I mean, wasn’t she attacked by Gryndylows?” Draco silently snorted at Harry's valiant attempt at charming smile. He was sure that something like that wouldn't work on the woman, which happened to be true judging by her unamused face.

“For your information, I took care of everyone who spent any amount of time in the Lake right after the task, including Ms. Delacour. You were also one of those people, Mr. Potter. I thought that you might remember me tending to your injuries. However, unlike the seven other people, you were the only one who almost drowned today, so I hope you understand that you need a bit more medical care. I'm sorry if you find this attention too extensive, but I take my job very seriously, especially when a student's life is at stake.”

Draco’s breath hitched in his throat. Harry almost what?

Harry turned a deep shade of red and bowed his head in shame. “I’m sorry, Madam Pomfrey. I didn’t want to be disrespectful… I would never question your dedication to your job. I- I’m really sorry.”’

The expression on her face softened a little bit, but it remained determined. “It’s quite alright, Mr. Potter. I can imagine that you are getting tired of spending so much time in the hospital wing, and trust me, I would prefer you to stay healthy and far away from this room for the rest of your school attendance. Unfortunately, at least for now, we have to deal with your recent injuries.”

“I get it,” nodded Harry. “I’m sorry once again. And thank you for your care.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me boy. I just want you to get healed. Hopefully, come morning you will be in perfect health and ready to leave the Infirmary. Now rest.”

“Thank you, Madam Pomfrey.”

“Good night, Mr. Potter. I f you need something during the night, I’ll be in my office.”

“OK. Good night.” Harry relaxed a little. Madam Pomfrey closed the curtain surrounding Harry’s bed. Her footsteps were getting less and less audible, and then she obviously entered her office judging by the creak of the door.  Draco uncovered himself again and looked furiously at Harry.

“You almost drowned?”

Harry groaned. “Dracooo!”

“You didn’t mention that earlier!”

“It wasn’t as bad as it sounds!”

“Oh, Salazar! Harry! You’re impossible!” Draco sighed and shook his head. Then he looked back at Harry. “How did it even happen?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “I stayed too long in the water. Both Cedric and Krum saved their ‘prisoners’, but Fleur was nowhere to be seen. I didn’t want to leave her sister there with all the Merpeople, so I waited. Eventually, when she wasn’t coming, I took both Ron and the girl, but I waited too long. The Gillyweed stopped working before I could reach the lake surface.”

Draco sat with a heavy sight on the bed. “I was right, you really do care too much sometimes.”

“What, do you think that I should have left her there? Draco, we were surrounded by Merpeople with knives and spears, underwater! It was scary as Hell! I couldn’t just leave her there!”

“That’s not what I meant. As I said before, Harry, you have a kind heart, and I can’t be mad at you for something like that. I admire your passion, the way you don’t hesitate to help others. But it also scares me, Harry.” It was time to be honest and Draco couldn’t hide anymore. He had to make Harry to understand. “It scares me that with your desire to help people, you could go too far and I could lose you. It sounds selfish, I know, but I don’t want to lose you, Harry. That’s why I insist on helping you, why I want you to tell me the truth. That’s why **your friends** want to help you. It is so that you come back to us.”

He felt Harry’s hand sneak into his own. “Draco,” he whispered. “You’ve never told me you feel like this. Not even earlier.”

“Sometimes it’s still difficult for me to express my feelings properly. When you grow up as a pureblood and Malfoy, you have to stick to certain rules.”

Harry tugged on his hand and Draco looked into his boyfriend’s emerald eyes. They were wet with unshed tears and Draco’s heart ached from the sight.

“Draco. I didn’t want to hurt you like this. If I’ve known- I should have realized-“

“I should have told you earlier.”

“It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done. But I promise to be more careful from now on. I won’t be as reckless.”

“Thank you, Harry. And I promise to be more open with you.”

Harry nodded and smiled at Draco’s words. “I’d love that.”

“OK.” As if to seal their promises, Draco gently kissed Harry and felt himself relax a little at the soft touch of lips on lips. He then leaned back and smiled tiredly. “I seem to be locked in here for the night.”

“Yeah. Well, I’m actually quite happy about it if I’m being honest. I’m happy that I can spend more time with you. Will you move one of those beds near mine?”

“Frankly, I have a better idea.”

Draco stood up and took his wand of out of one of his pockets. First he cast Tempus charm to see how late it was. Then he cast another one to set an alarm.

“What was that for?”

“I just set an alarm at 5 in the morning. I want to wake up before Madam Pomfrey so that she doesn’t catch us in an indecent position.”

“What do you mean by ‘indecent position’?”

Draco didn’t answer, he simply started undressing. He could feel Harry staring at him and when he looked back at his boyfriend, he couldn’t help but smirk a little. Draco then took off his shirt and kicked off his shoes. He started to unbuckle the belt on his trousers and then he slowly stepped out of them. He was now standing there in only his pants. Draco turned around so that he was facing away from Harry, bent down to collect his clothes and he could swear he heard Harry gulp from behind him. He then placed his clothes on top of his shoes and straightened up. When he turned back to face Harry, he saw a blush spread all over Harry’s face. “You act like you’ve never seen me almost naked before. Remember the time in the Prefects’ bathroom?”

“I like the sight, so sue me.”

“Seriously.” Draco shook his head and gestured to Harry to make space for him in the bed. When Harry realized what Draco meant by waving his hand, his eyes grew impossibly wide.” Oh!” He hurried to move farther so that Draco would comfortably fit into the space on the bed.

“Yeah, oh! I’m not wasting this opportunity.” He nestled in the bed and lay down next to Harry. He then opened his arms and invited Harry into his embrace.  The younger boy accepted without hesitation. He carefully placed his injured hand on Draco’s belly and nuzzled his head into Draco’s chest. Draco felt Harry’s hair tickle his neck and he gently rubbed the top of Harry’s head with his chin. Harry giggled.

 “I’m glad you’re here. Good night, Draco.”

“Good night, Harry.”

Sooner than later, both boys were sleeping, enveloped in each other’s warmth.


End file.
